Addiction is a Family Disease
Watching your loved one struggle in active addiction is excruciating. We want to help but so often are treated cruelly or shut out altogether. The resulting stress and heartbreak affects the entire family. But now that your loved one is in treatment; your love and support is vital.
Breaking this cycle now means that future generations of your family may be spared. Healing with your loved ones can teach them how to get through life’s tough moments without turning to substance abuse. The cornerstone of your loved one’s healing could very well be the support system that they have.
You Used to Feel Powerless, Now You Are Empowered to Help Them
Addiction is a disease: it cannot be managed unless it is treated. If a loved one has diabetes, it is manageable once you know the problem. Education and lifestyle changes facilitate a new routine at home that will manage this potentially life-threatening disease.
Addiction is quite the same. The anguish of addiction doesn’t educate one on the power of recovery. While friends and family members may feel helpless during addiction, recovery is their time to shine. Your loved one will need you and at this time, more than ever, you will be able to help them.
Begin by educating yourself and close loved ones about this disease and begin family therapy sessions. Participate in support groups. You’ll find the support you need here to fortify the one you care about. We also encourage personal therapy. One of the tools you have when helping an addicted loved one to heal is the ability to set boundaries. Drawing these lines in the sand will help your loved one to understand that you will not participate in their destructive behavior.
Building Healthy Boundaries to Rebuild That Relationship
Boundaries are important because they begin to separate the addicted person and their loved ones from the problem. Boundaries can be as simple as having a consequence for ignoring an imposed curfew in your home. They send a clear message that you will no longer participate in the actions that undermine a happy, healthy life.
The key to weathering the intense moments of drug or alcohol addiction is having consequences for crossing those boundaries that are substantial and most importantly of all, firm. The boundaries will become meaningless if the addicted person or their loved ones don’t take the consequences seriously.
Top 3 Tips for How to Help Your Loved One in Treatment
The good news is that addiction can be overcome, and a healthy life awaits those who are able to do it. A Better Today is dedicated to helping families find their way back to a happy normalcy again. The best possible chance that your loved one has to finding their way through that addiction is the support of their family and friends. Here are a few ways you can help.
1. Be Present During Recovery
It feels good to have your loved one in recovery, but the healing efforts can’t stop there. Your involvement in their recovery is crucial to their success. Being removed from a familiar situation can be challenging for someone going into recovery as it can be uncomfortable and distressing which may cause feelings of resentment and irritation. Having patience, love, and an open heart during this time is essential.
2. Take Care of You
When someone we love has an addiction, our endeavor to take care of them, or save them, engulfs all of our energy. We often find that friends and family members of the addicted individual have neglected themselves and that they need to heal as well. While your loved one is getting the help they need, you need to get the help you need. Recovery will include counseling and therapy. While you should be involved in family therapy and group counseling with your loved one, consider a personal therapist as well.
3. Educate Yourself
It’s hard to help someone with something you don’t understand. Commit some time to learning about the disease of addiction; therapy and support groups can help you to understand what is going on. The more you know, the easier it will be to stick to boundaries, forgive your loved one, and ultimately heal yourself and your family.
A Better Today is here to help your family take the first step in getting through this confusing and difficult time. We understand that the addicted person is not the only one deeply affected by the disease. There are many services to help you too. Give us a call today and we will connect you to a treatment center that is right for your loved one. We’re ready to help.
