Family & Support Questions about Addiction
For families dealing with addiction understand that their loved one’s disease affects the entire family unit. A loved one’s addiction may begin to break down trust quickly as drug seeking behaviors such as lying, stealing and manipulation spiral out of control. This often leaves those surrounding the addict feeling like they have no options, and that things are hopeless. Addiction is an isolating disease. It creates secrets, shameful feelings, and guilt, all of which prevent individuals and their families from seeking outside help. Families dealing with addiction need to reach out and find support groups that can aid and come alongside them.
The good news is there are many support groups designed to aid families dealing with addiction. Both Al-Anon and Nar-Anon were developed to assist families in learning how to equip themselves for the long battle of a loved one’s addiction. Should you need help and need to know more about programs to help families dealing with addiction please call us now.
What Support Groups are there?
Families dealing with addiction should know that there are many groups out there developed to come alongside family members of alcoholics and problem drinkers. The most widely know and attended support group for families of problem drinkers is Al-Anon. While this is generally not an organization that provides specific advice about ways to handle a loved one’s drinking problem, families dealing with addiction can lean on others walking the same journey as them. There are specific groups designed to deal with the complex issues that spouses and partners experience when living with an alcoholic. There are also groups that help support adult children of alcoholics. And others designed to bring together parents,
There are specific groups designed to deal with the complex issues that spouses and partners experience when living with an alcoholic. There are also groups that help support adult children of alcoholics. And others designed to bring together parents, grandparents, and siblings of individuals struggling with alcohol addiction and alcohol detox.
A second widely known support group for families dealing with addiction is Nar-Anon. Nar-Anon is designed to be a family group of other individuals struggling with the hopelessness that often accompanies addiction’s impact has on life. There are 12 Steps of Nar-Anon, and these form the backbone of the program. The central step is understanding that drug addiction is a disease, and like any other disease it requires treatment and steps towards recovery, often steps that addicts must make on their own. Should you need help finding a Nar-Anon group near you, contact us and allow us to help navigate the process of drug addiction recovery.
Families Dealing With Addiction
What is an Intervention?
Families dealing with addiction understand that at some point professional help is needed to deal with heroin addiction and alcoholism. An intervention is a forced meeting with the addict during which behaviors and addiction are confronted with the intention of providing rehab options or forcing drug rehabilitation. Often, family members choosing to intervene do so knowing that their relationship with their loved one will have to come second to their health and wellness.
The risks of not intervening far outweigh the short-term guilt that an intervention might cause. Rather than standing by and watching the continued decline of an individual, and allowing their actions to negatively impact the lives around them, intervention allows for a new start. A successful intervention might include contacting Coastline Rehab Centers for information and insurance verification prior to confronting a loved one. Getting a loved one into a rehab center immediately is important, and may prove lifesaving.
What is a Family’s Role in Drug Rehab?
Families dealing with addiction should view their role as supportive and safe while striving to break unhealthy bonds that might have fed into continued addiction. Should a loved one be admitted to outpatient rehab centers near you, the family’s role will be to keep the home environment safe and free from any temptations. This means clearing out the house of all drug, alcohol, and any other substances that might feed into substance abuse. Family members should strive to refrain from consuming alcohol themselves, and provide emotional support. Loneliness and extreme drug and alcohol cravings can cause problems for recovering addicts and family members should seek to support their loved ones in outpatient drug and alcohol rehab centers in Southern California.
Should your loved one be in inpatient drug and alcohol rehab, their ability and freedom to engage family members will most likely be very limited. During the time that family members have with their loved ones, the attitude should remain supportive and loving. Guilt, shame, and humiliation are often three of the most isolating feelings that an individual can feel when going through the inpatient rehab center program. Find time to write letters to your loved one, or visit when allowed, making sure that they know how much you care and support them.
Did I cause the Addiction?
Often, family members feel responsible for their loved one’s addiction to painkillers. While there may be a genetic component to addiction, the reality is that the addict themselves made choices that contributed either directly or indirectly to their heroin addiction or alcoholism. One of the central models of inpatient drug rehab and outpatient recovery programs is that clients take full responsibility for their addiction. This means that the individual must take the blame for the drug use and abuse, and also all the issues and problems that their addictions caused for others. This can be a very difficult part of inpatient drug rehab and recovery therapy. Families dealing with addiction have become accustomed to the lying and deception that always accompanies opiate addictions. Setting new standards of communication with their loved ones is key when moving forward.
If your loved one is struggling with the signs and symptoms of addiction, we urge you to seek treatment information on their behalf. Staging an intervention can be the first step towards recovery, and our intake counselors are ready to take your call.