Understanding Addiction – Taking Care of Your Mental Health When a Loved One is Battling Addiction

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taking-care-of-your-mental-health
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”:  
  1.  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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
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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.

Tips to Help Your Loved One During the Recovery Process

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Addiction is a terrible disease and it can take a tremendous toll on not only the addict but the rest of the family as well. When someone first agrees to get help for drug abuse and addiction, they often think that detox is the only step during the recovery process. People who are addicted to alcohol might even come out of the detox process and think they can drink socially. This is not the case. Sobriety represents a lifelong commitment and people need to embrace this commitment every day. Having support from friends or family is one of the main factors that keep a recovering addict determined and disciplined. It’s a great idea for friends and family members to familiarize themselves with ways they can help an addict through the recovery process.

How to Tell if Addiction is Taking Hold of a Loved One?

In order to be able to support someone throughout the recovery process, you’ll need to be able to spot the signs of addiction. There are a few key signs that someone is suffering from addiction: 

  • Defensive behavior: Addicts tend to become defensive during their addiction. If you start to ask them why they don’t have money or why they’re losing weight, they’ll get angry and most likely try to turn the conversation around on you. Although this can be hurtful, remember that they aren’t doing this maliciously. 
  • Hiding their use: People drug and alcohol abuse are generally not socially acceptable, addicts hide their use. An addict may stash alcohol or drugs in their car so no one can find them. They’ll often lie about what they’re doing as well to hide their use. If you ask an addict to come over for dinner, it’s common for them to make up an excuse because they want to get high. 
  • Mood swings: Drug and alcohol use can cause unstable moods. Someone using a stimulant will be down one minute, then up the next. Someone who is addicted to alcohol may start their day out feeling happy and normal, but the more they drink, the more depressed they can become.
  • Financial problems: Sustaining an addiction can become very expensive. If you suspect someone is struggling with substance abuse, and they ask to borrow money, they might have a problem. If you find someone going through your personal belongings to steal money, they most likely have a problem. 

When is it Time for Help?

It’s never too soon to get help. Once you recognize that someone you love is suffering from substance abuse, it’s time for help. Addiction is a progressive disease, the longer it manifests, the worse it gets.  It is critical to stop addiction in its tracks as early as possible to limit the collateral damage that might result.

How To Help Someone with Addiction

It may feel hard at first to try to help someone who is suffering from addiction. It’s normal to feel angry, or sad, or confused, especially if someone’s addiction has impacted you directly. The most important thing to remember is your loved one is sick. If they did something to hurt you, it wasn’t purposefully. It’s important to approach someone who is suffering from addiction with care and compassion. If they feel like they’re being attacked or misunderstood, they may resist getting help. 

There are different ways to approach someone about their addiction. Because everyone is different and every addiction is different, it can be hard to determine what is the right thing to do. If your loved one is struggling and is an introvert, try having a private conversation with them. They may get overwhelmed if too many people confront them at once. If your loved one gets agitated easily, you may want to confront them with someone else present. 

After you confront the addict, the most important thing to do is let them know you’re here to help them. You can offer to help them with researching different treatment options and even help by calling different facilities to learn more about their program. 

The best thing to do when helping someone during the recovery process is to not judge them and lend a shoulder to cry on. You’d be surprised at how much it can mean to someone by just saying “I’m here for you if you ever need to talk”. 

Let Us Help You With Your Addiction Treatment

At Anchored Tides Recovery, we are a complete, dual-diagnosis enhanced addiction treatment program, designed specifically for women, by women. This program provides a variety of levels of outpatient services, which include a Partial Hospitalization Program (PHP), an Intensive Outpatient Program (IOP), a traditional Outpatient Program (OP), and long-term recovery monitoring. Our goal is to help women overcome addiction and mental health disorders. If you are interested in learning more about how our professionals can help you overcome the bonds of addiction, please contact us today!