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Do you have a close friend or family member who is mired in an alcohol addiction? How do you approach this person about what you have noticed — should you rehearse a direct confrontation or wait for the subject to arise organically?
However sincere your concern may be, how you go about expressing it could make the difference between your loved one digging in their heels or opening themselves in trust. People who have been on this road before with those they love can empathize with your confusion and uncertainty.
Read on for New Growth Recovery’s tips on what to do and what not to do in your attempts to help your loved one become sober.
Those who struggle with addiction may have no inclination to address their problem until someone they trust brings it out in the open and offers continued support for their recovery.
Gaining freedom from addiction is often a difficult, one-step-forward-two-steps-back kind of journey. A true support person should be in it for the long haul, but be able to understand that pushing too hard will likely be counterproductive.
New Growth Recovery can help you learn how to offer support tactfully, considerately, and wisely. Call us today to discover how our alcohol rehab can be another major element in your loved one’s recovery.
Fighting to conquer alcoholism, or encouraging another to do so, can be exhausting, especially emotionally. The following actions may not be obvious or come naturally to you or your loved one in such a state.
Impress upon your loved one the importance of expanding their support system. While they are ultimately responsible for their own recovery, having others to lean on can make their burden much less onerous and lonely.
Sometimes the help a person needs is beyond the scope of concerned friends and family. If your loved one seems to be in need of a more comprehensive and structured approach to fighting addiction, they may benefit immensely from a professional treatment program, such as those offered by New Growth Recovery.
Professional programs provide evidence-based treatments that are sure to bring about positive results with the patient’s cooperation. There are different programs to suit people struggling with varying degrees of addiction.
As a condition with strongly linked mental, emotional, and physical aspects, alcohol addiction is often deeper and more complex than it appears on the surface. To those not struggling personally with the addiction, the solution may seem like a no-brainer. In the mind of the afflicted individual, however, there may be insurmountable stumbling blocks and tightly woven knots that seem next to impossible to unravel.
Take advantage of some of the wealth of material written about alcohol addiction and recovery. You may find that you are not alone in your experience with your loved one and gain insights based on others’ research and experience that can help you as you navigate the relationship.
Knowing you are personally invested in and concerned about their progress can encourage your loved one to stay committed to becoming sober.
Abstinence from what was once an aid to their stability can leave them feeling weak and vulnerable. If they know you are there for them even in those times, it may give them the strength to continue abstaining.
You can express your support in various ways, such as:
Active listening is a skill that involves being attentive and engaged in your conversations with others. When your loved one is overwhelmed with trying to establish a new structure for their life, they will need to offload their thoughts and feelings from time to time.
Talking to someone who is interested, alert, and caring is essential at these moments. No one wants to talk about deep-seated difficulties with someone whose eyes glaze over or who just seems to be listening out of obligation. Rather, they will be more open to being honest and digging into the heart of their issues with the person who helps them process what they are trying to express.
Being this person for your loved one will take practice; the more you do it, the better you’ll be able to avoid the mistakes that shut down a friend’s much-needed communication.
H3: #6: Set Healthy Boundaries
Addiction puts such strain on relationships that recovery is a challenge for everyone involved, not just the person struggling with addiction. In respect for that relationship and as an admission of your hope for its continuance and healing, you must often define certain boundaries that you expect your loved one to honor.
Boundaries are also a natural consequence of broken trust and a protective measure for those hurt by their loved one’s addiction. You may need to keep a greater distance (emotionally and physically) between you and your loved one, or you may need to assert, for example, that you will not be around them while intoxicated.
Healthy boundaries ensure that you are not abused by the substance user.
If your loved one has long considered alcohol to be an essential component of relaxation or entertainment, this may be tricky. The truth is, with some focused thinking and planning, there is an abundance of healthy fun to be had.
Too much downtime can exacerbate the person’s desire for alcohol, so it’s important to fill that time with positive activities, such as:
Relapse is not an uncommon occurrence on the road to sobriety. Do not despair for your loved one’s recovery if this happens; even relapse can be an illuminating event. It is important, however, to recognize it when it happens, so you can step in as the support person you are trying to be.
The following actions may be signs that your loved one is experiencing a relapse:
Perfecting your ability as a positive support person goes hand in hand with eliminating negative support efforts from your modus operandi. The following actions, though they may arise instinctively and seem logically necessary, are not helpful:
After addressing how to help someone get sober for family and friends of people struggling with addiction, we at New Growth Recovery urge you to recommend our services to your loved one. These include our:
Contact us today to learn more about these services and how New Growth Recovery’s compassionate and empowering approach to addiction recovery is so effective for our patients.
The content in this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition
