Addiction is a chronic disease that affects all aspects of a person’s life, including their relationships, career, health, family dynamics, and psychological well-being. When a loved one struggles with the disease of addiction, you may find yourself struggling as well. Anchored Tides Recovery has 20+ years of experience of understanding addiction, an all-female staff, and an all-female client base. Many generations of women find their path to recovery with our treatment options. We have also learned some methods of coping with the challenges of loving someone who is struggling with addiction. Here is some vital information to keep in mind to avoid losing your mind…

Help Yourself First

It is natural to be ready and willing to do whatever it takes to help your loved one in their time of need, especially if you are a parent. Believe it or not, this is often detrimental to their process and does more harm than good. Trying to be the hero who saves the day can come at the cost of your relationships, finances, physical health, and sanity. The road to recovery is a long and personal process. When you try to involve yourself too much, it can have an adverse effect. You may end up pushing the person further away or even trigger drug abuse to cope. Accepting that a loved one has an alcohol or drug problem is extremely difficult. Until the person is ready to take the first step, you cannot do much to help them.

Taking the First Step to Overcome Drug Addiction

For many people trapped in the vicious cycle of drug addiction, the most challenging step toward recovery is the very first one. They have to decide on their own that they want help. This concept is crucial to understand. You can not force a person to get help if they’re not ready to admit they have a problem. It can be very frustrating to be willing to do anything to help someone but have your efforts yield no results because that person isn’t ready to accept your help. For this reason, it’s essential just to make sure you’re focusing on your mental health problems and not enabling them further. People with an addictive behavior may feel uncertain about whether they’re ready to attend treatment facilities. You need to understanding addiction and know that strong emotions such as anger, shame, guilt, depression, and anxiety usually come along with the thought of needing help. Usually, a person needs to hit their own personal version of “rock bottom” before they even admit they need help. Hitting rock bottom is personal. For some users, this part of the journey may take a long time to happen or may not ever happen at all.

Raising the Bottom

“Raising the Bottom” is a term that describes helping a person hit their version of rock bottom sooner. It requires a lot of discipline and strength, but many counselors agree that understanding addiction may be the best way to help someone who isn’t ready to admit they need help. Your role in raising the bottom is to stop any enabling behaviors and make it so their drug habit becomes inconvenient. Here are some examples of “Raising the Bottom.”

Cutting them off financially.
If they’re using drugs in your house, tell them they can’t stay there anymore.
Call the authorities if you find them using drugs.

To many, this is considered “tough love,” which makes it difficult to do when you care about someone. It helps to change your mentality and keep in mind the long-term goals of raising the bottom. Making it harder for them to live comfortably with their choices does not mean you do not love them. The more difficult it is for them to live this lifestyle, the more likely it will be that they come around to the idea of accepting help.

Is Addiction A Family Disease?

Here are some reasons why addiction is considered a “family disease”:

Addiction’s impact extends to the entire family. When one family member struggles with substance abuse, it can negatively affect everybody else who cares about them. Family and friends may get stuck in a cycle of trying to fix the person and then feel resentful when they see no results or see that their efforts are not appreciated.
Mental health conditions, such as addiction, are hereditary. According to a study by the American Psychological Association (APA), more than half a person’s susceptibility to drugs and alcohol addiction is linked to genetics.
Families play a large role in the drug rehabilitation process. Spouses, parents, children, siblings, and friends need to forgive past mistakes and be empathetic towards the current efforts. Empathy will help you to provide the love and support they need to make progress.

Be Patient and Understanding

The road to recovery can be a long and complicated process, both for the person in treatment and for the people around them. They may try and fail multiple times. They will have some good days and some bad days. Don’t assume that a good day means they’re “cured,” and try not to get frustrated if a string of bad days makes it seem like they will never recover. Just remember always to prioritize your own mental health no matter where they are in their recovery process. Don’t enable or do anything to help facilitate their drug use. You can not help someone who is not ready to accept help. You are not responsible for their sobriety, but you are responsible for your well-being. Have you found your mental health being affected by a loved one who struggles with drug or alcohol addiction? You are not alone; We are here to help you. At Anchored Tides Recovery Center, we always recommend family members to take part in our family programs. Once the client has completed drug addiction treatment, we recommend the family continue working with support programs to better learn about relapse conditions and understanding addiction. Call us today to get started on the road to recovery and addiction-free life. We will educate you on what the process looks like to begin a drug addiction treatment and what is needed to support your loved ones.

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Struggling with addiction takes a toll not just on ourselves, but also on the people we care about. But overcoming any form of drug abuse is easier said than done, and this is especially true for women. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that women, on average, often face greater difficulties due to both biological differences and harsher societal expectations. And despite nearly 20 million women using illicit substances in the past year alone, many addiction treatment programs remain designed and geared towards, men. This is why our team at Anchored Tides Recovery focuses on women and what it takes to achieve long-term recovery.

Now, many people assume that once you get through withdrawal, addiction recovery is a piece of cake. But the truth is that it is only the beginning. True addiction recovery means making active decisions each day to stay sober and find happiness in everyday life. While there are a lot of different things that will help with these decisions (pursuing hobbies, working out, etc.), the real key is building a strong support system early on.

Why a Support System is Important

Very few of us can make big life achievements all on our own. And yes, getting sober is a major achievement. With the right people surrounding you and supporting you throughout your recovery, you’ll be better able to make the right decisions. Everyone’s situation is different, and support systems can consist of a variety of people: family members, friends, counselors, mentors, etc. For many people in early sobriety, it is a good idea to surround yourself with a blend of people from these areas to get different perspectives and support from all areas of life. Specifically, a strong support system helps you in the following ways:

They give you an outlet to voice your frustrations and feelings.
They provide a real-world perspective and can help remind you why sobriety is good (healthy peer pressure).
They show that a sober, healthy life is within reach.
They can help expand your social circle with other healthy-minded individuals.
They can introduce you to healthy, enjoyable hobbies.
They help remind you that you are an important, well-liked person with value to others.

Above all, building a strong support system keeps you accountable to others rather than just yourself. You’re not deciding to stay sober just because of yourself now; you’re also doing it for the important people in your life.

Choosing the Right People

Now that you know how important having a good support system is, how do you go about surrounding yourself with the right people? To start, you should only be around people who are sober and/or who have already made great strides in fighting their own addiction problems and are acutely focused on sobriety. Especially in early sobriety, it is not a good idea to continue associating with people who are not supportive of you discontinuing drug abuse or who even enabled it. It is all too easy sometimes to slip and relapse, but the right people will do what they can to help you make the right decisions. In the event that you do relapse, the right people are the ones who will help you get back up and into treatment.

As mentioned earlier, support systems often consist of different kinds of people who are meaningful in your life. For many, it starts with the people in their addiction treatment program. Your rehabilitation staff will serve as some of your earliest supporters, helping see you through the early stages and on to long-term recovery. Don’t be afraid to take advantage of all the resources your treatment program has to offer! There will be many opportunities for you to meet other like-minded individuals and strong people you can relate to.

That said, while it is important to continue therapy and have the support of a counselor, it is also important to be able to develop a healthy social life with family and friends. Working individuals may even confide in a trusted employer or coworker about their efforts and their intent to stay sober, thus expanding their support system even further.

Consider Group Therapy

One of the best ways you can build up your support system early on in addiction recovery is by participating in group therapy. This is also another case where you can utilize the resources available to you through your addiction program and find a group that you feel comfortable with. Giving you an outlet with people who know exactly what you’re going through, group therapy has been shown to be highly effective for all kinds of people. It’s also worth noting that groups can help keep you even more accountable than others in your life can, as they can relate to your temptations and will recognize any excuses you may make. In fact, many people continue group therapy long into sobriety because of the support they feel and the meaningful connections that are made.

We Can Help You Find the Support You Need!

Looking for the help you need to overcome drug addiction once and for all? We’re here for you. Anchored Tides Recovery is a comprehensive addiction treatment program designed specifically for women, by women. Our various levels of outpatient and partial-hospitalization services are designed to help you beat drug abuse without having to give up everyday life and the things that make you “you”. In addition to the initial stages of treatment that will help you overcome physical dependency, we focus on long-term recovery monitoring.

Our team of caring professionals will also help form part of your support system, and we will help you strengthen your relationships elsewhere. With the right team behind you, long-term sobriety is within reach! Contact us today!

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