Finding Support for Family Members

Most often than not, family members are the worst hit in case of an addiction. The consequences of addiction do not end at ruining the addict’s life but also extend to interfere with the life of his/her family members and loved ones. The most tragic part of all of it is that the addict, though he/she wants to get back to normalcy, could hardly help himself/herself given the cravings or compulsions.

Apart from worrying about the addict’s future, the family ends up taking the entire toll of destruction created by the person on their heads. Each day ends up to be a nightmare for the family of an addict who is constantly on the verge of further deterioration leaving no hope for betterment. As the chaos becomes a part of life, attempts to fix a friend or a loved one experiencing addiction becomes increasingly frustrating for the family.

Tips for the family members of an addict:

• Detach with love Practice detaching since you cannot prevent what is happening to them. This practice help you stay sane and in turn get treatment for them and help them. Practice self-care. Self-care improves tolerance and allows to ignore addict’s negative behaviour thereby helping in maintaining better relation dynamics. The key component of self-care and recovery is to let the addict bear the consequences of his/her own behaviour without feeling responsibility for the same. Of course, it doesn’t mean that you stop caring. “It is to say that “You need to put your own oxygen mask on first to be able to care for others”.
• Let the addict face the consequences A stage where the addicts exhibit risky behaviours by pulling up fights with others, crashing the cars or causing accidents to others, engage in behaviours that hinder their social reputations, do not go to help them. But be by their side just to see that they are safe. By not standing up for them during self-risk phenomenon, they possibly end up taking responsibility for their silly behaviour and try to get back in senses. This way the load is a bit lighter on you. The addict should not be allowed to play victim for the circumstances they created.
• Remember that you did not cause it There will be a constant, fear, frustration and blame game going on in the family of an addict, blaming one another for the consequences of addiction and for the cause of addiction itself in the first place. Dear family members of the addict, please remember that no one but the addict caused himself/herself the addiction by not acting upon it when the initial cravings crept in. By understanding that the very fate of an addict is his/her own doing, you stop blaming yourself and will be eventually at peace with yourself. This is another key point to your recovery. The addict himself/herself has to go through the pain caused by his/her behaviour. For an addict, pain is necessary in order to be able to choose sobriety.
• Addiction is beyond your control Addiction is mostly the result of poor choices of an addict other than in some cases where the predisposition of genes has a major role to play. That is in very few cases. Rational decision making becomes significantly impaired in an addict once his or her brain becomes dependent on a substance. Since the addict cannot see the impact of addiction on their behaviour, he/she natural thinks that nothing is wrong with them. Addicts continue to binge on their forever cravings until one day when they decide to quit.
• You can’t cure it either Lack of control being the hallmark of addiction, the addict because of his impaired sense of responsibility and decision making cannot see what’s wrong with one. One cannot even realize that he/she needs a therapy since the very change in one’s behaviour cannot be noticed by him/her. Since there’s no realization, there is no cure. You cannot cure it until the addicts themselves accept their irrational behaviour and come forward to get treated. Therefore, burden not yourself with an idea of responsibility for their cure. Instead be there for them when required.

The effects of addiction on the family of an addict mostly goes unnoticed. Apart from the fear of death of a loved one, the family suffers in silence the emotional and sometimes physical abuse caused by an addict, Children especially develop serious mental conditions that include depression, anxiety disorder and bi-polar.

Create/join the support groups: It is ideal for the family members to create a support group with the help of extended family members and friends who can actively listen to them and come handy in times of distress. They can also enrol themselves with similar people on the web who share a common platform.

Rehabs are the only places that help the kin of the addicts to recover. Ideally, the family of an addict needs to visit a rehabilitation centre for help and further plan a course of action for the addict’s treatment. Self-care is not selfish. With numerous rehabilitation centres all over the country one can easily access a rehab on a phone, or directly walk-in to know more about the options available. TO schedule an appointment with us reach us at +91 77999 19293.