Three Ways Family Can Support Someone After Drug Rehab
Drug addiction doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Family members are often concerned and try to help both before and after drug treatment. It’s important to understand that not all family help is actually helpful. Some choices can actually make addiction harder to overcome. Read on here to find healthy ways to support your loved one after they return from drug and alcohol rehab.
Family Can Help With Social Involvement
Everyone wants to feel like they belong, and families have long-term connections that mean a lot to people. Even when family situations have been tense and painful, it’s still possible to have pleasant social interactions. When family is particularly close, reconnecting can be a critical part of recovery. Spending time together in healthy fun ways can strengthen an addict’s support network.
Family members can introduce the addict to new people, invite them to church, go to sporting events, or even do volunteer work together. Anything that gets a recovering drug addict out in the world making use of their positive social skills is a good thing. The example is set in drug rehab, and the family can play a key role in keeping it going in daily life.
Family Can Keep Their Boundaries Firm
It may seem cruel to say “no”, but recovering addicts need to relearn life with healthy boundaries. If they did a lot of flopping at their parents house while they were drunk or high, allowing that to happen again during recovery may get old patterns of irresponsibility going again. It’s better to say that they can’t allow the recovering addict to flop there, but they will help them come up with solutions to the reasons they feel they need to flop. Do they have transportation problems? Are they still needing a job? Do they have a volatile relationship that makes them leave their house periodically?
An addict needs to build a life with stable healthy living patterns. Keeping a firm boundary isn’t just about saying “no”. Family members can replace the inappropriate request with a more functionally healthy idea. Offering problem solving support keeps the family connection going, and it encourages the addict to face and solve their problems instead of avoid them.
Family Can Go To Family Drug Treatment and Support Groups
Drug addiction is closely connected with family functioning. Many family members do things that may seem helpful, but actually they continue to enable the addicted person to carry on with little consequence. Going to Alanon or family drug treatment groups can help family members understand their role in their loved one’s addiction. For example, some people think they are helping an addict when they lend them money or give them a place to live. Unfortunately, this keeps the addict from facing their full amount of personal responsibility, making it more difficult for them to see how addiction is unraveling their life.
More To Come About Family Helping After Drug Rehab
Later this month, look for another post with more suggestions about how family can help addicts after drug rehab. There are lots of ways to help your loved one through their life of sobriety.