We created IsThereSomebody as a safe space for people to connect with others who understand the painful journey of a loved one struggling with addiction. 

Our purpose is to shatter the stigma and combat the isolation experienced by those living alongside a loved one battling addiction. We do this by providing an alternative to the more traditional support groups that gives people a new way to connect whenever they need to, wherever they may be in the world.

The inspiration behind IsThereSomebody

In all my time on this planet, I have not experienced as many extreme emotions as in the past couple of years as a result of this unwanted journey I found myself on.  The addiction and recovery journey of a loved one is indeed a rollercoaster.  I am a natural born empath, a problem-solver and my day job is to help individuals and businesses grow and succeed, so the loss of control and not being able to solve the problem closest to my heart is exceptionally hard to cope with.  It is a day to day personal battle not to slip into rescuing or enabling mode – believing I can fix this.  Acceptance is the hardest lesson.

Along the way, there have been so many learnings, and a key one has been feelings and emotions can change day to day, week to week, month to month.  

Grief has been an overwhelming theme for me.  Having a loved one struggling with addiction can feel like you are grieving for a person who is still alive.  Grieving for the real person underneath the addiction and willing them to re-emerge.   You live with an eternal hope that they manage to break through and reappear to live their life to its full potential.  

Connected to this can be a desire to withdraw socially, from friends and even from family.  Sometimes this might be a self-protection move; you just want to be on your own.  Sometimes you can’t cope with others celebrating or even mentioning their happy family milestones and achievements as it only painfully reminds you of the loss of yours.  Sometimes it’s simply to avoid inevitable questions you don’t feel strong enough to answer or be open about.

However, for every despairing situation in life, there is always a positive to be found.  My positive has been meeting some incredible people, with such strength and resilience overcoming the most impossible of personal circumstances.  The inspiration for the app came from the friendships I have made, and a realisation that there was a tendency to forge a natural connection and discover shared empathy with those on a very similar journey to my own.  Whilst addiction shares many common traits, different addictions have different nuances.  The relationship dynamic also matters – a parent with a child struggling with an addiction will be different to that of someone supporting a partner in addiction. Life stage, age and the recovery stage you are on all play a part too.

The joining of these dots was the start of the seed that became IsThereSomebody.  How could we replicate the connections that form in a traditional group setting and give that opportunity to millions of people across the world affected by a loved one with a dependency.  Enabling connections and conversations to happen at any time, anywhere – whenever you need the support from somebody who understands. We do this by harnessing technology to remove the barriers, be it physical or mental, that prevent people talking today.

Our mission is to make these connections possible at scale and get people opening up about the very real struggles with addiction in what feels like the most damaging taboo to crack on this planet.

Help us overcome the stigma & silence, join us on this journey together, be there for others, share your experiences not forgetting the success stories which themselves can offer a glimmer of hope.  

~Anna

Anna Divers

CEO & Co-Founder, IsThereSomebody