Just as important as helping to secure residential, day or intensive outpatient drug treatment for your family member or significant other, you must also take care of yourself mentally, physically and emotionally. Drug and alcohol addiction is not only a horribly life threatening condition for those badly addicted, but it adversely affects everyone around them physically and emotionally, as well.
If you’re currently reading this article, you know exactly what we’re taking about! Parents and significant others also need help in order to avoid being destroyed by the dysfunctional addiction of someone close to them.
The following are some self-preservation actions we highly recommend parents or significant others of someone struggling with addiction to take for themselves:
1. Set in place clearly defined personal boundaries you want your loved one to respect. Be firm in telling them that your support for them will be limited to arranging for and then helping them get to a drug rehab facility. That is it. You can make no other emotional or financial commitment other than that, bottom line fact.
2. Research residential treatment programs that feature evidence-based therapies and include treatment of co-occurring mental health issues so often associated with addiction. This is often called dual diagnosis or integrated treatment. It’s also beneficial to find programs that supplement this high level of medical and clinical treatment with a variety of experiential recovery regimens.
3. Seek out an Interventionist. This professional can get the pressure off of you and move things in the right direction, where the focus is on initiating a program of recovery for your loved one.
4. Get yourself some outside support. Get your own personal counseling to help you through a recovery process for yourself. Also, engage with others struggling with the same issues in regards to addiction as you. Organizations like Al Anon and Alateen for adolescent siblings are excellent resources. Addiction is a family issue, so everyone involved can use additional help and support.
In sum, addiction isn’t anything like the ordinary bad or good behaviors that parents and loved ones deal with over the years. Addiction is a serious and progressive condition. You can’t enable your son or husband into recovery from addiction. You also can’t force him into treatment, as that oftentimes doesn’t work. Instead, let go of trying to force outcomes you can’t control and focus on the singular thing you will support – your loved one getting immediate treatment for their addiction that is destroying him and your family. Be strong and assertive in letting your loved one know that treatment is the only thing you will support.
A Remarkable Healing Experience Awaits at Spirit Mountain Recovery
Addiction treatment isn’t hours of therapy sessions and discomfort like your loved one may think. Nestled in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah, Spirit Mountain Recovery is a remarkable, fun and effective place for your loved one to begin his new life free of substance addiction. Contact us today to learn more and get started.
