Addiction Recovery: How Friends and Family Can Step In

Addiction Recovery: How Friends and Family Can Step In : Having a loved one struggle with addiction is tough. Not only do you not want to see your family member or friend suffer inside and out, but the journey of their recovery can be a patchy one. Initially, it may be hard to convince them to get help. Even when they do get help, you might not be confident that they will remain clean.

If you have a friend or family member suffering from addiction, here are some tips:

Learn About Addiction

For someone who has never dealt with addiction first hand, it can be very confusing. One of the best ways to help someone going through this is to learn more.

It’s important to conduct research on the signs of active addiction, what causes addiction, and even the relapse rates for those struggling with addiction (and what may cause those relapses).

Be Mindful of Triggers

Everyone with addiction has different triggers. Someone with an addiction to alcohol may feel triggered when simply hearing a word associated with alcohol, seeing an alcoholic beverage, or going to a restaurant with a bar. Others might not be triggered by such; everyone is different.

To avoid accidentally provoking anxiety, panic, or a need to use in the recoverer, it’s wise to be careful with the things you do and say. The wound is still fresh, so be considerate.

Refrain from Enabling

Sometimes enabling is unintentional. We may not be trying to encourage our loved one to keep their addiction. However, we can still be feeding it without knowing.

Ways you might be enabling someone with addiction can include: inviting them to parties knowing there will be substance use, drinking around them, purchasing them an alcoholic beverage for their birthday, the list goes on. Sometimes even the “nice” things we do can be the most toxic of all.

Keep a Realistic Mindset

Let’s face it, Rome wasn’t built overnight. And a person struggling with addiction isn’t going to be a brand new person within 24 hours. Recovery takes a lot of time, perseverance, responsibility, and dedication.

Having a realistic perspective in this case is knowing that recovery won’t be a quick process and that there may be some slip-ups along the way. Not to mention, recovery can bring about the worst in someone physically, mentally, and/or emotionally as their mind and body adjusts to life without substance.

Seek Professional Help

Addiction recovery can be rough. Seeking the best drug rehab Oklahoma for your loved one is a great idea to help encourage them on the path of recovery.

It’s also a good idea to seek counseling or attend meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, with or without your loved one, as well. Part of them recovering involves you healing too, to avoid any pent-up anger or resentment towards your struggling family member or friend.

Conclusion

Witnessing someone you know go through addiction is heartbreaking. The good news is, there are ways you can approach the situation to help make their recovery easier for both them and you. The latter words of advice can help you remain as educated and as at peace as possible as they begin their recovery journey.