Nine Strategies for Families Helping a Loved One in Recovery

Most of the time just sitting and listening to those recovering from addiction can help. Often times just the confirmation that a person was heard will help them to feel better about themselves and create new bridges of trust and respect between you. As a nonprofit organization, we also work to determine if patient aid and no- or low-interest loans are available that can be used in combination with insurance benefits for addiction treatment. People with co-occurring disorders can benefit from peer support organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous . Some peer support groups are specifically for people with co-occurring disorders, such as Dual Recovery Anonymous . In English at Georgia State University, has over 5 years of professional writing and editing experience, and over 15 years of overall writing experience. She enjoys traveling, fitness, crafting, and spreading awareness of addiction recovery to help people transform their lives.

Every time they hear a phrase like this, they can share the truth about addiction. They can share some of the knowledge they’ve learned from private research, support groups and therapy sessions and give their friends destigmatizing words to use instead. By going to a meeting and listening to other family members, feelings of isolation and doubt may begin to fade. Families may also get the skills they need to better handle the interpersonal problems they’re facing. These meetings can help families learn how to deal with a loved one’s addiction. However, co-occurring disorders can disrupt involvement in such activities. Addiction or a mental health disorder may have become the center of your loved one’s life.

Parental Substance Abuse Effects on Children

If you find yourself in a challenging situation that may be triggering, let your family know so that they can help you implement the coping strategies you learned to avoid relapse. Encourage members to attend family therapy for substance use disorder. Each of these family roles in addiction helps them cope the best way they can.

Family involvement in your recovery process cannot be overlooked. Its positive effect on mending the ties within your family that may have been broken during your addiction can be the key to your long-term recovery.

Sana Lake Helps Rebuild Families

The disease of addiction throws the family ecosystem out of balance. Spouses, children, and other loved ones are often the unintended victims of a person’s addiction and can fall into certain family roles of addiction. On the other hand, families can make a huge difference in their loved one’s recovery. Here you’ll learn why addiction is often called a family disease and how you can support your loved one family support in addiction recovery in their recovery. Many treatment centers, such as Choice House, offer addiction psychoeducation to family members close to the recovering addict. This is because addiction is often misunderstood, and people often hold inaccurate beliefs about the disease. The instruction can take place in the form of workshops, individual and group therapy, and sessions with some of the staff at the treatment center.

However, because of the different family roles in addiction, family members will not always get along. The family hero tries extremely hard to make things as normal as possible. But, this stress and responsibility will catch up, leaving the hero anxious and stressed out. Family therapy for substance use disorder can help family heroes learn age-appropriate responsibilities.

Learn to set boundaries

Many of the groups mentioned above, especially Codependents Anonymous, can help you learn the difference between helping and enabling and provide tips on creating healthy boundaries. Parent CRAFT is a research-supported online course that teaches parents how to effectively interact with their children in order to change drug and alcohol behavior.

These programs can help family members understand themselves and each other, and work through conflict in a healthy way. Families once defined by anger and addiction can grow into tight-knit units that are able to support one another through honest communication and healthy boundaries. There are many online resources that can help families learn about addiction. Most bookstores also offer a wide selection of books about the chemistry of addiction and the science behind addiction treatment. By taking part in family therapy, loved ones are able to recognize these behaviors within themselves and learn how to change this dynamic. One of the most important reasons for having family support during recovery is simply because addiction recovery is hard. Individuals in recovery need someone to vent their innermost feelings to, someone to talk to if they’re having a particularly difficult day, and someone to lean on.

Family Roles in Addiction & the Importance of Family Support in Recovery

Families affected by addiction, particularly children, are at increased risk for maltreatment compared with other households. Those closest to an alcoholic or a drug addicted individual have unique roles in the development of addiction and will play an enormous part in the subsequent recovery. Spouses, siblings and parents of people with addictions often absorb many of the consequences of their loved one’s substance use. Many people have a hard time talking openly about the behavior that’s harming them, so they say nothing.

• Family members who experience a loved one battling with a substance use disorder often endure a host of painful emotions.
• We know that when a person has a substance use disorder, the whole family system is impacted.
• Family members may not have the tools on their own to assist someone in active recovery, and they may not have the energy to help themselves.
• They protect our own well-being and the health of other family members.
• Thus it’s important that you let your loved one know that you care about him or her.
• Therefore, family therapy for substance use disorder is vital in helping family members heal.

Families can also connect with addiction recovery resources in their local community, such as addiction recovery centers or 12-step programs. This can help individuals feel supported and connected to others working on their addiction recovery. Our online courses will help you expand your knowledge about alcohol and drug addiction and mental health disorders. Start by learning about mental health disorders, addiction, and integrated treatment. Integrated treatment addresses all co-occurring disorders at the same time.