Freedom or Imprisonment: The Relationship Between Self, People and Drugs

Paul Bonham has been a keen observer of people and the relationships that have shaped their lives for a number of years. Having worked in the area of drug support within the prison system, secondary education and youth work, he has developed an understanding of the varied interactions that impact on the person.Through his facilitation of groups, he has explored features of relationships between each of us and the drugs (substance and activity) that we choose. He has introduced the aspect of the active drug within the relationship and how, listening to the other creates an understanding of how to manage oneself. Paul promotes the importance of observing relationships from the perspectives that we all maintain in our everyday lives with influences such as social media. He shares his personal experiences and seeks to share his ideas on self-care and preservation of balanced mental health in a complicated world.