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We support & empower children & young people under 26 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or unsure (LGBTU) of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.

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How you take a drug affects how quickly you start to feel its effects and how strong they are. Depending on how the drug enters you, it can damage different parts of the body.

How a drug is taken can influence how likely you are to get addicted to it. Smoking and injecting drugs cause the biggest concentration of chems in the blood in a very short amount of time. This gives the fastest, strongest hit and a greater chance you will become addicted.

Remember:

Know your dealer - always buy your drugs from someone you trust and who knows what they're selling.

Don't be alone - if you overdose or have a bad experience, you'll need help.

Bad batches happen - try a small sample of a new batch first to avoid overdosing.

Have condoms and lube with you - stimulants can make you horny.

Knowing about the specific risks with taking drugs in different ways can help you to keep these as safe as possible:

Find out about different entry methods, and how to keep these as safe as possible:
Next: Swallowing ››
Published: 07/08/2015
Next review: 07/08/2018

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How you take a drug affects how quickly you start to feel its effects and how strong they are. Depending on how the drug enters you, it can damage different parts of the body. How a drug is taken can influence how likely you are to get addicted to it.

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Drinkaware provides independent alcohol advice, information and tools to help people make better choices about their drinking.

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Cutting down on alcohol can be a really effective way to improve your health. See our simple tips and practical ideas to help you starting drinking less. Let’s do this!

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Cocaine Leaflet for Pavilions Print 18.07.18 V2

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If you're stressed, whether by your job or something more personal, the first step to feeling better is to identify the cause.
The most unhelpful thing you can do is turn to something unhealthy to help you cope, such as smoking or drinking.

"In life, there's always a solution to a problem," says Professor Cary Cooper, an occupational health expert at the University of Lancaster.

"Not taking control of the situation and doing nothing will only make your problems worse."

He says the keys to good stress management are building emotional strength, being in control of your situation, having a good social network, and adopting a positive outlook.

Check out our selection of stress-busting apps in the NHS Apps Library.

What you can do to address stress

These are Professor Cooper's top 10 stress-busting suggestions:

Exercise won't make your stress disappear, but it will reduce some of the emotional intensity that you're feeling, clearing your thoughts and letting you deal with your problems more calmly.

For more advice, read how being active helps mental wellbeing.
Get started with exercise
Take control

There's a solution to any problem. "If you remain passive, thinking, 'I can't do anything about my problem', your stress will get worse," says Professor Cooper.

"That feeling of loss of control is one of the main causes of stress and lack of wellbeing."

The act of taking control is in itself empowering, and it's a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else.
Get tips on how to manage your time
Connect with people

A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way.

"If you don't connect with people, you won't have support to turn to when you need help," says Professor Cooper.

The activities we do with friends help us relax. We often have a good laugh with them, which is an excellent stress reliever.

"Talking things through with a friend will also help you find solutions to your problems," says Professor Cooper.

Read about some other ways relationships help our wellbeing.

Have some 'me time'

Here in the UK, we work the longest hours in Europe, meaning we often don't spend enough time doing things we really enjoy.

"We all need to take some time for socialising, relaxation or exercise," says Professor Cooper.

He recommends setting aside a couple of nights a week for some quality "me time" away from work.

"By earmarking those 2 days, it means you won't be tempted to work overtime," he says.

Challenge yourself

Setting yourself goals and challenges, whether at work or outside, such as learning a new language or a new sport, helps build confidence. This will help you deal with stress.

"By continuing to learn, you become more emotionally resilient as a person," says Professor Cooper.

"It arms you with knowledge and makes you want to do things rather than be passive, such as watching TV all the time."

Avoid unhealthy habits

Don't rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as your ways of coping.

"Men more than women are likely to do this. We call this avoidance behaviour," says Professor Cooper. "Women are better at seeking support from their social circle."

In the long term, these crutches won't solve your problems. They'll just create new ones.

"It's like putting your head in the sand," says Professor Cooper. "It might provide temporary relief, but it won't make the problems disappear. You need to tackle the cause of your stress."

Help other people

Professor Cooper says evidence shows that people who help others, through activities such as volunteering or community work, become more resilient.

"Helping people who are often in situations worse than yours will help you put your problems into perspective," says Professor Cooper. "The more you give, the more resilient and happy you feel."

If you don't have time to volunteer, try to do someone a favour every day. It can be something as small as helping someone cross the road or going on a coffee run for colleagues.
Find out more about giving for mental wellbeing
Work smarter, not harder

Working smarter means prioritising your work, concentrating on the tasks that'll make a real difference.

"Leave the least important tasks to last," says Cooper. "Accept that your in-tray will always be full. Don't expect it to be empty at the end of the day."
Get tips on how to manage your time better
Try to be positive

Look for the positives in life, and things for which you're grateful.

"People don't always appreciate what they have," says Professor Cooper. "Try to be glass half full instead of glass half empty," he says.

Try writing down 3 things that went well, or for which you're grateful, at the end of every day.

Accept the things you can't change

Changing a difficult situation isn't always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over.

"If your company is going under and is making redundancies, for example, there's nothing you can do about it," says Professor Cooper.

"In a situation like that, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job."

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If you're stressed, whether by your job or something more personal, the first step to feeling better is to identify the cause. The most unhelpful thing you can do is turn to something unhealthy to help you cope, such as smoking or drinking.

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How Can We Help?

Brighton & Hove Sexual Health & Contraception Service (SHAC) is free, confidential & open to everyone.

Keep it or cancel it

If you don't need your appointment, there are 3 easy ways to cancel it. Text CANCEL to your SMS appointment reminder. If you booked online, log-in, click 'appointments' and 'cancel'. Or, call us on 01273 523 388. Keep it or cancel it, but don't forget it.

Find Out More

Where to find us

We offer a range of Sexual Health & Contraception clinics at 3 sites across Brighton & Hove. Our HIV Outpatients clinic is based at the Lawson Unit

Clinics

We offer a mix of on the day and pre-booked appointments

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Brighton & Hove Sexual Health and Contraception Service

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How Can We Help? Brighton & Hove Sexual Health & Contraception Service (SHAC) is free, confidential & open to everyone. Keep it or cancel it If you don't need your appointment, there are 3 easy ways to cancel it. Text CANCEL to your SMS appointment reminder.

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Clinic M (MSM Clinic) | Brighton & Hove Sexual Health and Contraception Service

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Clinic M offers a confidential sexual health service to gay and bisexual men and other men who have sex with men regardless of HIV status on Wednesday evening. There are 8 walk in slots from 17:00 - 18:00 and appointments from 18:00. This clinic is open on Wednesday evenings 17:00 - 20:00.

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Our HIV and sexual health services in Brighton and Hove and West Sussex.

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Search the site

For example, search for information on sexual health, HIV, how we work or one of our services.

1. Home

2. HIV and sexual health

Information about HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and how to maintain good sexual health.

Resources for people living with HIV and those newly diagnosed.

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Information about HIV, other sexually transmitted infections and how to maintain good sexual health. Resources for people living with HIV and those newly diagnosed.

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Welcome to The Sussex Beacon Providing specialist care and support for people living with HIV Find out more about our vital work and how you can help Texts cost £3 plus your standard network rate. 100% ... Read more

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Welcome, every Friday we get together and offer a healthy and enjoyable meal and a safe and supportive space for all people living with and affected by HIV.
We believe that meeting others in this setting to share a meal is a great way to make new friends and to find peer support. The lunch club is welcoming, informal and supportive of everyone who visits. We aim to make it a place where everyone feels comfortable, included and amongst friends.

We open from midday for tea or coffee and a chat, and from 1 o'clock we serve a healthy starter, main course, vegetarian option and dessert.

You're welcome to come along any time during opening hours - and there's no need to 'book' ahead.
Find out more about Lunch Positive, how you can come along and if you have some spare time, how you can volunteer.

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Welcome, every Friday we get together and offer a healthy and enjoyable meal and a safe and supportive space for all people living with and affected by HIV. We believe that meeting others in this setting to share a meal is a great way to make new friends and to find peer support.

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We work to improve the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ communities and to make mental health a community concern

Last year we helped 1,342 people struggling with social isolation, suicidal distress, financial hardship, discrimination and prejudice, hate crime and exclusion.

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MindOut | Mental Health Charity for LGBTQ community

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We work to improve the mental health and wellbeing of LGBTQ communities and to make mental health a community concern Last year we helped 1,342 people struggling with social isolation, suicidal distress, financial hardship, discrimination and prejudice, hate crime and exclusion.

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Brighton and Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum - Home

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Providing the Brighton & Hove Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender (LGBT) community with advice on safety. Offering advocacy and assisting the LGBT community to report Hate Crime and discrimination.

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Switchboard is a charity that has been listening to, supporting and connecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer communities since 1975. Originally a helpline, we have grown to deliver lots of additional services by and for LGBTQ people in Sussex.

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Switchboard is a charity that has been listening to, supporting and connecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer communities since 1975. Originally a helpline, we have grown to deliver lots of additional services by and for LGBTQ people in Sussex.

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Peer Action - For everyone affected by HIV

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For everyone affected by HIV, by people living with HIV

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OutdoorLads is a friendly group of gay, bisexual and trans guys who get together to enjoy adventures and activities. Our events are run by volunteers all over the UK and we also organise expeditions worldwide. There's something for everyone, no matter your experience, so take a look and #GetOutMore!

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Welcome to OutdoorLads.com - A great new way to expand your social network

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OutdoorLads is a friendly group of gay, bisexual and trans guys who get together to enjoy adventures and activities. Our events are run by volunteers all over the UK and we also organise expeditions worldwide. There's something for everyone, no matter your experience, so take a look and #GetOutMore!

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Clinic T (Trans Clinic) | Brighton & Hove Sexual Health and Contraception Service

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Although our core service is focused around sexual health if there is anything else that concerns you, for example psychological issues or worries about taking hormones (including concerns about self-medicating), you can discuss this with the nurse or doctor seeing you in complete confidence.

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Information about a wide range of legal and illegal drugs

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MDMA is not risk-free. If you roll, read RollSafe first.

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Psychedelics are not risk-free. Respect psychedelics and use TripSafe's psychedelic education resources.

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Erowid is a non-profit educational & harm-reduction resource with 60 thousand pages of online information about psychoactive drugs, plants, chemicals, and technologies including entheogens, psychedelics, new psychoactive substances, research chemicals, stimulants, depressants and pharmaceuticals.…

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Pill Reports - Ecstasy Test Results Database by Enlighten

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Pillreports is a global database of Ecstasy" pills based on both subjective user reports and scientific analysis. "Ecstasy" is traditionally the name for MDMA based pills, however here we also include closely related substances such as MDA, MDEA, MBDB. Pills sold as "Ecstasy" often include other, potentially more dangerous, substances such as methamphetamine, ketamine and PMA.

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by Tuukka Tammi

Too often, the materials that projects produce are eventually hidden somewhere, forgotten and unused as the project ends. That is a pity, not to mention a waste of resources. To avoid this, we have tried to preserve our materials in places which stay alive and kicking after our project has ended, and the people who worked on it have moved on to new. An article by Tuukka Tammi.
The three-year EU Joint Action on HIV and Co-infection Prevention and Harm Reduction, HA-REACT, produced a bunch of materials that are useful in training, planning, or advocating harm reduction measures and policies. HA-REACT had 22 partners, representing 18 EU Member States, with additional expertise provided by 14 collaborating partners, including the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
Training manual on HIV and HCV rapid testing in low-threshold settings for PWUD
In the following - to use restaurant vocabulary - the ingredients of our delicious and carefully prepared products are briefly described. The best before date of these delights is not even near. Please enjoy them while they're fresh and tasty.
On our menu, we have:

This manual was designed to be a complete tool for providing staff in low-threshold settings the knowledge, skills, and techniques needed for testing people who use drugs for HIV and HCV and linking them to needed care. The manual includes eight modules with descriptions of content to be taught and tips for practical exercises. These modules introduce basic information about HIV, HCV, and TB, different types of tests which can be used, pre- and post-test counselling, gender-specific approach to testing and treatment, as well on how to build links to care. The modules can be used together as a complete 3-day training or independently.

The manual is available in English and in Russian.
The same training material has been converted to an e-learning tool which is available here!

As part of HA-REACT's activities in Latvia and Lithuania, a complete Harm reduction training package was created and tested. The whole package includes policy seminars, face-to-face trainings, study visits to best practice harm reduction services, guidelines, manuals, and leaflets. The package is well documented here and its different parts can be copied and tailored to other countries, regions, and contexts.

As part of the training package development, HA-REACT prepared the booklet Everything you ever wanted to know about drug-related harms but were afraid to ask. The booklet is based on interviews with people who use drugs, social workers, clinicians, nurses, NGO workers, and researchers. It is available in English, Lithuanian, Latvian, and Russian.
Very juicy.

Sister materials of this booklet are the brochure and the video What is Harm Reduction? which explains in a clear and visualised way what harm reduction is about, and how it benefits people who use drugs, as well as their families and communities.

Harm reduction services for people who inject drugs are too seldom offered in European prisons; prison-based harm reduction was also one of HA-REACT's focus areas. The web site contains a variety of materials and online courses about harm reduction in prison settings, with an emphasis on continuity of care. The courses cover the following topics: condom provision, needle and syringe exchange in prisons (PNSP), opioid substitution treatment (OST), and harm reduction in prisons.

Toolkit on models of care and quality. Many studies have been conducted to explore the barriers faced by PWID when accessing HIV, HCV, and TB services. These barriers can have important consequences not only for their health and the lives of their families, but also for their communities and for public health in general. Frequent delays in receiving appropriate care mean higher prevalence of HIV, TB, and other infections, as well as higher healthcare costs. A related policy brief and the toolkit on implementing integrated models for PWID addresses both barriers and solutions to overcome them.

For those with more thirst for knowledge, deeper analysis about the service access barriers in Europe can be found from another HA-REACT Report: An assessment of barriers to access to HIV and HCV services for people who inject drugs in Europe

One barrier for well-working services is a lack of money. To help find solutions for this, HA-REACT produced a Guide to funding mechanisms for harm-reduction programmes in European Union Member States. This guide outlines funding sources and mechanisms for programmes that provide harm reduction and other health services to people who inject drugs (PWID) in the European Union.

It covers funding sources ranging from municipalities to international organisations and private donors. The document provides brief examples to illustrate the variety of funding arrangements, which are often quite complex.

Tuukka Tammi

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On Today's Menu: Fresh Delights for Harm Reduction Training and Advocacy

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by Tuukka Tammi Too often, the materials that projects produce are eventually hidden somewhere, forgotten and unused as the project ends. That is a pity, not to mention a waste of resources. To avoid this, we have tried to preserve our materials in places which stay alive and kicking after our project has ended, and the people who worked on it have moved on to new.

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BPS Response - APPG Inquiry into HIV and Mental Health