If your loved one is battling addiction, you may feel helpless as you watch them sink further into the disease. They may change from the person you used to know and resort to stealing, lying, and manipulation as the addiction takes hold. As this happens, you may want to help them get better. You celebrate when they go into addiction treatment, but wish there was more you could do.
Here are 5 ways you can help someone in addiction rehab:
Educate yourself about addiction
Information is power and learning about addiction gives you knowledge on how to help your loved one. Read and research the signs and symptoms of addiction to different substances as well as how addiction affects both the individual and those around them. This will help you understand your loved one better and what they’re going through.
Take care of yourself
Eventually, dealing with someone’s addiction will start to take a toll on you unless you take care of yourself. Focusing on the addict and the drama around them can make you start experiencing physical and mental health issues. To prevent this, it’s vital to get support from outside. This could be others who are going through the same thing or getting therapy yourself. Additionally, get plenty of rest, exercise, and socialize with others to remind yourself that you’re not alone.
Have realistic expectations
Seeing your loved one enter addiction rehab can be a relief. However, you need to have realistic expectations of the process. Keep in mind that relapse is a possibility and it doesn’t mean that the person has failed. Also don’t expect them to change overnight. Recovering from addiction is a lifelong process and it takes time to get rid of negative behaviors that your loved one was used to. Remain supportive and manage your expectations to avoid disappointment.
Don’t enable them
It can be difficult to watch someone you love struggle to get their life back on track but this is something they need to do for themselves. You may be tempted to step in and prevent them from experiencing the consequences of their actions but this will only curtail their growth. For them to grow, they need to learn how to manage their triggers, cravings, and temptations on their own. You can support them, but not do the hard work for them.
Seek specialty help
A great way to help someone battling addiction is by ensuring they’re receiving the best help possible. At Impact Outpatient Program, we focus on providing personalized intensive outpatient treatment and outpatient care based on an individual’s recovery needs. We aim to keep our addiction treatment programs flexible enough to fit busy lifestyles and even have virtual telemedicine sessions for those who can’t attend therapy in person. Our admissions process is also designed to have you assessed and enrolled in a treatment program as soon as possible. Talk to us today to learn how we can help meet your recovery needs.