How to Support a Family Member with Addiction

Witnessing addiction is an immensely painful process, regardless of whether you see a person struggling with alcoholism, drugs or any other kind of substance abuse. Addiction not only damages a person’s health but also puts a toll on their loved ones who find themselves in an unknown situation and don’t know how to react.

Knowing the appropriate way to help someone with their struggle can make a huge difference, and to do that you must first learn about addiction itself and the support a particular patient requires.

At New Leaf Recovery, we understand how hard it may be to witness another’s struggle with addiction. Professional help and support can be extremely beneficial not just for your loved one, but also for you.

Understanding Addiction and its Consequences on a Family

Addiction is a severe disorder that manifests itself through changes in a person’s behaviour, attitude towards their health and family, their emotional state etc. In most cases, the problem of addiction lies much deeper than a simple lack of self-control or inability to cope with certain difficulties.

In many instances, addicted people are aware that something is wrong yet find it hard to stop the unhealthy habits that cause damage. This leads to families feeling overwhelmed and finding it increasingly hard to find the right way to deal with addiction.

Many people are likely to feel scared, angry, frustrated or simply powerless when dealing with someone suffering from addiction.

How to Deal with Alcohol Addiction in the Family

Alcohol addiction can be somewhat harder to recognise than other kinds of substance abuse because of the social acceptance. Still, chronic heavy drinking, dependency and loss of control over alcohol consumption can lead to severe health problems.

People with alcohol addiction tend to be defensive when it comes to their drinking habits. Some of the symptoms associated with alcohol abuse include:

• Changes in mood
• Poor decisions
• Withdrawal from family life
• Secretive behaviour

Trying to talk a person into stopping alcohol consumption may be difficult as well as potentially ineffective because addicted people are unlikely to accept criticism.

Instead of aggressive conversations or attempts to humiliate someone for their addiction, it could be more productive to have an open discussion about your concerns and encourage seeking professional help from providers like New Leaf Recovery. Discouraging certain behaviours and establishing boundaries with your loved one can be a great step to start supporting them.

Helping People with Drug Abuse Problems

Various types of substances produce different effects, so drug addiction may look differently for people depending on what medications they use. The most popular types of drugs in the United Kingdom include cocaine, heroin, cannabis, prescription medication and synthetic substances such as Spice.

A loved one’s behaviour, physical appearance and attitude towards health vary widely and depend on their specific circumstances. In general, people with drug addiction may start hiding their addiction from their families, experiencing significant financial troubles, displaying dramatic changes in personality and behaving aggressively.

Helping someone with drug addiction may prove difficult since many families find themselves struggling with distrust or emotional exhaustion. It’s important to remember that although supporting addicted people is crucial, forcing them into treatment can be counterproductive.

The most useful thing you can do in this case is encourage your loved one to undergo treatment while maintaining healthy boundaries. It means that you shouldn’t accept manipulations or aggressive behaviour, even though it’s often extremely hard.

For help with various kinds of drug addiction, contact New Leaf Recovery today.

The Importance of Good Communication

How to support a family member with addiction? Good communication is key when it comes to helping your loved one. Many people avoid talking because they are afraid of hurting their feelings and causing unnecessary conflict. Unfortunately, the lack of communication allows the problem to persist.

Conversations are most successful when you remain open-minded, honest, calm and non-judgmental. Instead of focusing on blame, try to talk about your feelings and concerns.

It’s always best to choose the right moment to talk and avoid arguing with an addicted person. Talking to a person when they are intoxicated is hardly likely to be productive either.

Avoiding Enabling Behaviour

In an attempt to support a family member with addiction, families tend to try to protect them from negative consequences of their choices. Constantly paying off a patient’s debts or bailing them out, for example, isn’t going to contribute to their health improvement in the long run. In fact, this behaviour is called enabling.

Enabling includes the following actions:

• Giving money repeatedly without establishing healthy boundaries
• Finding excuses for the patient’s behaviour
• Protecting patients from any kind of responsibility

Supporting patients should primarily be about helping them overcome their problems and not make life easier for them.

Unfortunately, it’s often hard to resist enabling as many patients respond aggressively to attempts to establish boundaries. Still, boundaries are vital both for your health and the patient’s.

Taking Care of Yourself

Helping someone recover takes an incredible amount of effort and energy, which explains why family members often find themselves emotionally exhausted. When all your attention is focused on them, you may forget about yourself and neglect your health and emotions.

In fact, stress, anxiety and other mental disorders are common among families affected by addiction. Therefore, it’s so important to take care of yourself and seek additional help when needed.

At New Leaf Recovery, we offer assistance not only to patients themselves but also to their families, which enables them to understand the problem better.

Signs That You Need to Seek Professional Help Immediately

Sometimes an addiction situation requires immediate professional assistance. The following signs could indicate the need for quick action:

• Dangerous withdrawal symptoms
• Thoughts of suicide
• Increased risk of overdose
• Dangerous or aggressive behaviour
• Sharp decline in mental condition
• Heavy daily use of substances

Helping Someone Get Professional Treatment

Family members’ emotional support can play an important role in helping someone beat their addiction. However, sometimes professional help is required for successful long-term recovery.

Addiction can involve complex physical factors as well as mental health problems and behavioural challenges. These issues can be effectively addressed through proper treatment.

Persuading someone to start professional addiction treatment might take some time. Some individuals accept help immediately, while other people tend to ignore addiction for months and even years before deciding to take steps towards recovery.

The key point here is to stay patient, consistent and realistic in your expectations.

New Leaf Recovery helps individuals recover from addiction by providing them with carefully tailored treatment programs that are specifically designed for long term success in recovery. Learn more about professional addiction treatment programs at New Leaf Recovery.

Getting professional advice immediately is a wise choice if any of these symptoms appear in someone’s life.

Seeking Help from New Leaf Recovery

If your relative or friend has been struggling with alcohol or drug misuse, professional help could significantly improve their life. Understanding what to do and when to act is important, yet, you do not have to go it alone.

You can contact New Leaf Recovery for reliable and confidential advice that will help someone access addiction treatment and overcome their problems.

Frequently Asked Questions About How to Support a Family Member with Addiction

How can I support a loved one with their addiction?
You can encourage someone to seek help, communicate in a positive way, set appropriate boundaries, and offer supportive words and understanding.

Should I confront an addicted person?
Having open and honest discussions is a good idea. Aggressive approach is likely to scare your loved one away.

What is the difference between support and enablement?
Encouraging recovery and healthy choices is called supporting. Allowing an addicted person to behave irresponsibly and hide their problems is enablement.

Is addiction limited to the addict only?
It affects everyone who has close relationships with the addict, which includes all the family members who live in the same house.

What should I do if my loved one doesn’t want help?
You cannot make someone enter a treatment program voluntarily. You should just continue persuading them to get help and protect yourself from destructive influence.

Does New Leaf Recovery also help families?
Yes, we can assist both the addict and their relatives.