How Family Members Can Help Support An Addict in Recovery?

Family therapy helps family members understand addiction and its impact on family dynamics. The therapist helps family members to develop healthy communication and coping skills. It can also help improve the mental health of family members by reducing anxiety and depression. If we ourselves can’t stay healthy during a loved one’s addiction process, how can we be helpful and supportive to them? If we can’t help protect the health of other family members affected by their addiction, are we really loving the family how he hope to? And if we really want to protect a loved from harming themselves from their addiction, can we truly do that if we aren’t willing to set boundaries that prevent enabling behavior?

In this way, GRASP provides an outlet not only for the mental and emotional toll of having and losing a loved one to a substance use disorder. SMART recovery, or Self-Management and Recovery Training, is a secular alternative to Al-Anon and similar spirituality-based interventions. SMART Recovery Family & Friends is a science-based program for family members of people living with addiction. SMART Recovery Family & Friends has several meetings in many cities and uses non-confrontational methods to help loved ones cope with a friend or family member’s addiction. Family members often feel harsh words or careless statements most acutely when they come from friends, co-workers and even distant relatives they see on a regular basis.

Bipolar Disorder and Addiction

Get Your Loved One Sober offers a revolutionary program for those who are seeking recovery for a loved one. CRAFT has been found to be twice as effective as Johnson Interventions in getting a loved one family support in addiction recovery into treatment. Our skills training for Family & Friends includes tools for positive communication skills and other strategies to help you change the dynamics of your relationship with your loved one.

This approach, uses encouragement and motivation to inspire a family member suffering from substance use disorder to seek out addiction treatment themselves. In the best circumstances, families can find it difficult to adjust along with the person who is recovering, who is behaving differently than before, and who needs support. Even after a family member begins treatment and recovery, other family members may continue unhealthy behavior patterns. Each family member may be adjusting to changes, starting to deal with past conflicts, and establishing new routines.

Remember you are not alone and recovery is possible!

Having family members who can step in and take on some of these challenges makes it possible–and more likely–for them to get started in treatment. Family members often enable loved ones who have a substance use disorder, often without realizing they are doing it. For example, providing someone with money, because they say they can’t make rent, is a way of enabling a loved one to continue using. Unless you pay their landlord directly, you don’t know if the money is being used to pay the rent, or if your loved one is going to buy drugs or alcohol. When families support a loved one in recovery they can learn to change behaviors. Private sessions typically follow a skills-based format, in which caregivers learn more about how to deal with destructive thoughts and habits developed during years of addictive behavior.

It cannot be overstated how difficult and painful it can be to see a loved one battle an addiction or suffer from mental health problems. Finishing a rehab program is a huge accomplishment that commonly comes with a celebration from friends and family. However, not everyone has the privilege of having family members that are supportive of them in recovery. This could be because of ongoing substance abuse within the household or problems that appeared during the person’s addiction that have not been forgivable for some family members.

How Family Can Support a Loved Ones Recovery

Negative behaviors you may have engaged in like lying, erratic behavior, legal trouble, and financial struggles can negatively impact your family. That is why during the recovery process, it is vital to have your family involved in your treatment and healing journey. In fact, studies show that family involvement in addiction recovery gives you a better chance of maintaining long-term sobriety. Programs like Al-Anon, for families and friends of alcoholics, and Nar-Anon, for families and friends of drug addicts, are free support groups. Alateen and Narateen are specifically designed to help young family members understand and cope with addiction of a family member. These groups provide valuable education, support, and encouragement to those impacted by a loved one’s addiction.

• There are several emotions that develop at this time, many of which can be complicated to manage in a healthy manner.
• It allows open and honest discussion about difficult topics like addiction, enabling behavior, and relapse prevention.
• Every time they hear a phrase like this, they can share the truth about addiction.

This can help family members feel heard and respected, which is essential for successful communication. Therefore, it is critical that you avoid bringing alcoholic beverages to the house, especially while your loved one is in the early stages of recovery. Research has found that continued familial conflict or continued substance use by family members can increase rates of relapse in other family members working towards recovery. Employing strategies to positively solve conflicts, build familial harmony, and strengthen relationships can help facilitate long-term recovery. Sign up for the Recovery Research Institute Recovery Bulletin to get the latest research in addiction treatment and recovery.

Addiction Impacts the Whole Family

A mental health professional might have a multitude of functions in the beginning stage of transition. You might be the one living with alcohol use disorder, but your behaviors and lifestyle may have shaped, https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/alcohol-help-now-where-to-get-help-for-alcohol-addiction/ and continue to shape, the lives of those closest to you. When the family comes together to offer support and focus on positive outcomes as a unit, it may help prevent many of the pitfalls during recovery.

As your family learns more about how they can help and support you, the hope of recovery can feel more tangible. When family members are supportive, it can make all the difference in a person’s ability to stay sober. In fact, research has shown that people who have strong family support are more likely to stay in recovery and avoid relapse.

There are several emotions that develop at this time, many of which can be complicated to manage in a healthy manner. Addiction is an awful disease, at times it can be very difficult to reach a person who refuses to get confidential help for an addiction. One of the most frustrating experiences for parents is when their loved one’s drug addiction does not allow for it.