If a loved one has struggled with addiction but sought help and is now in recovery, you can play a vital role in the success of that recovery. Seeing and suffering damage caused by addiction in family members can understandably have a toll on your ability to trust and willingness to help. Still, if able, you have a role to play in breaking the cycle of addiction in family members and loved ones. If someone you care about drinks excessively or is using drugs, contact the trained professionals at Avedis Detox online. Or call 833.514.0579 today to discuss how our medical detox center can help them take the first steps to lasting recovery.
6 Keys To Helping A Loved One in Recovery
Your desire to help a loved one in recovery is admirable, but before you can be of any use, you must practice self-care and make sure you are in a position, both mentally and emotionally, to help. Much like during an airplane safety demonstration, when you are instructed to secure your oxygen mask before helping others, ensure you are in a good place to help with family members’ addiction. That is the first key to helping with addiction recovery in a family member you love and care about deeply. Here are the next five:
Educate Yourself
When you take the time to educate yourself and better understand the science behind drug and alcohol addiction, you will be able to see with more clarity why your loved one has had such a challenging time overcoming their addiction. You will also learn about the long, sometimes crooked path to a successful recovery and how you can play a positive role in theirs.
Help Them Follow Their Treatment Recommendations
No matter what their treatment in recovery involves, a person who has suffered from a substance use disorder may not always want to follow through with the recommendations from the medical professionals who have and still are guiding them through the rehab and recovery process. Some of these recommendations may include:
- Individual and/or group therapy
- Family therapy for addiction
- Taking medications
- Case management sessions
- Further rehab
You can help by encouraging your loved one to attend support groups and alumni events and utilize the peer group that best understands their journey. Additionally, you can also show solidarity with your loved one. Help them follow through on their treatment plan by attending support groups with them, if permitted, and being their dry, supportive “plus one” to sober events and family gatherings.
Show Support
You can support their long term recovery through several ways, many subtle, including:
- Being present and available
- Listening to concerns about medications and side effects
- Helping to make appointments and get your loved one there and back
- Working with their treatment team
- Staying up to date on medications
- Reduce exposure to temptations
- Help find sober alternatives to favorite activities and participate with them
- Encourage the building of a supportive circle of friends and family
Set Boundaries
While you can and should show support, you must also set healthy boundaries with your loved one. Addiction in family members can take a toll on you mentally, emotionally, and even physically. Therefore, you must know your limits and communicate these boundaries to your loved ones. Remember that showing love and support does not implicitly mean providing unconditional help through money, work, or housing. Sometimes, the best way to show support and truly help a loved one in recovery is by recognizing the addiction and offering unwavering love while making financial help contingent upon honoring a promise to stay clean and sober.
Be Healthy, Clean, and Sober Together
To be supportive through your words is one thing, but to go as far as to take action in helping your loved one in their recovery is a powerful statement and could be a factor in their long-term recovery success. A life of sobriety is crucial for your loved one’s recovery, and you can help model healthy habits and a clean lifestyle. Keep substances away from them by cutting them out of your life too and find substance-free activities to enjoy together, like:
- Hiking
- Cycling
- Starting a book club
- Movie nights
- Traveling
- Yoga
- Caring for a pet
When you demonstrate your desire to see them succeed by changing your life, your loved ones will be motivated to focus intently on their recovery. The result may be a healthier you, a healthier them, and a relationship that flourishes going forward.
Learn More at Avedis Detox
The road to recovery can be long and challenging, but with you on their side and the team at Avedis Detox just a call away, your loved one has never had a better chance at success. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 833.514.0579 today to learn how our family therapy for addiction can be helpful during the rehab and recovery process.
