Parents who take Class A drugs such as Ecstasy, cocaine and MDMA are not as rare as you think. In clinic, we frequently see fortysomething mothers who are worried about their levels of drug use: women who used to enjoy an occasional indulgence with friends, but whose use has crept up. The trouble is that what begins as an occasional, nostalgic dabble can escalate into habit surprisingly quickly. This is due in part to the addictive characteristics of some drugs and in part to escapism from feelings of loss — loss of youth, loss of identity through motherhood and career and the loss of the hopes and dreams of our earlier years. These losses are hard to engage with and, instead of adapting to the