How to Provide Healthy Support to a Loved One in Recovery
If your loved one is on the path to recovery from addiction, you may be wondering how to best support that person, while also avoiding enabling or codependency. How can you provide the right kind of support in order to promote your loved one’s health and recovery?
The Effects of Social Support
A study reported on NCBI showed that social support is linked to a higher quality of life among substance users, and that the desire for a better life is often what drives them to seek recovery. Just the outlook and opinions of the individual’s social network can make a drastic difference in the path they take to recovery.
It is important that the people they surround themselves with are positive and uplifting about the idea of rehab and recovery, as an individual in a negative atmosphere might not feel so incline to seek recovery. As their friend, you can provide a positive and optimistic view of recovery.
You may not even realize the impact that your supportive words can have on their future choices, but it does make a tremendous difference.
Keep Up with Goals
Be positive and optimistic about your loved one’s recovery.
The second thing you can do is remind them of their own individual goals and the reasons they chose to better their life in the first place. NIDA suggests that you remind your loved one how much courage it takes to undergo the recovery process, and that you will be there for them through all the hard work that lies ahead.
You can help them stay focused and on track by reminding them of what their life can be like after recovery, and how much they can gain from a healthier lifestyle. It may take a lot of time, and several attempts, but remind them that this is okay, as any step towards recovery is incredible progress. Just as long as they keep trying, they can make it through in the end.
Avoid Codependence
It is important that while you support the recovery of your loved one, you avoid becoming codependent. What this means is that their addiction should not dictate your life as well, and you should not begin to live your life catering to their needs.
Featured Rehab Center
If you allow their lifestyle to shape yours as well, then this can make them slip into further dependency and hinder their recovery. You can be loving and supportive without catering to the addiction, which is tremendously important for their health as well as your own.
This may be a difficult balance to figure out, but it is something that should be taken into great consideration when a loved one is suffering from addiction.
If you are walking through this process with a loved one and have questions or concerns, just call 888-646-0635Who Answers? to speak with a caring specialist who can guide you through the next steps. As you provide support and encouragement to the addict, it is just as important that you are receiving support and advice through this time, in order to maintain your own well-being.
There are many different types of holistic rehab treatments and programs that give patients another layer to their addiction recovery. Christian drug rehab is one of these, and while it isn’t the right match for every patient, a program like this can be incredibly beneficial to certain individuals in helping them overcome their addictions. We….
Alcoholism is an epidemic in the United States. According to NIH, nearly 17 million adults struggle with alcohol use disorders. Overcoming an addiction to alcohol can seem frightening when you’re right in the middle of it. The urge to drink again may be so strong that it can seem impossible to resist, and the physical….
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, not all treatments work for everyone. This is why finding a treatment center that fits your needs is so important. There are some basic things that all treatment centers should have. Accreditation The treatment center you choose should be accredited by the: Joint Commission, the National Committee….
Heroin addiction is a complex illness that often requires a combination of medical care, support and medication in treatment. Patients in heroin rehab often receive medications to help curb cravings, stop withdrawal symptoms or treat other medical issues while they are in recovery. Some of the most common medications in heroin rehab include: Methadone Buprenorphine….
Opiate drug effects offer a two-edged sword in terms of their effectiveness as pain treatments versus their high addiction potential. Whether taking Vicodin as a treatment or using heroin for recreational purposes, certain precautions must be taken to avoid the harmful effects of these drugs. This is especially the case when it comes to mixing….
The decision to seek help for addition is already a difficult decision to make and then trying to determine how you can afford such treatment is even more concerning. Figuring out how to pay for drug rehab is often the one thing that holds people back from getting treatment. Most importantly, you can’t wait to….
While there are various agencies that have been attributed to having developed guides and principles for effective drug treatment, the most common principles that are used by treatment centers as a guide to effective drug treatment are outlined by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) principles for effective drug treatment….
Substance abuse, be it alcohol or drugs, exerts a tremendous toll on individuals, families and communities. Teen substance abuse in particular has the ability to change a young person’s life in ways that affect him or her for years to come. For these reasons, it’s important to be able to spot signs of teen substance….
Nearly all of the states in the country now have or are in the process of implementing Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMP), which are electronic data-sharing systems designed to reduce the current escalation of the abuse and addiction to pharmaceuticals. As more of the nation continues to update into the digital age, so has the….
According to the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment,” Family therapy grew from a perceived need to bring to the therapy session respect and attention to each individual’s needs, interests, expressions, and worth.” These same interests can also be said about any other healthy relationship. In the throes of addiction, addicts often lose sight of the….
