Choosing to receive treatment for drug or alcohol addiction is the best thing that anyone with substance use disorder can do for themselves. Not surprisingly, it’s also the best thing that they can do for their families. For many people living with addiction, the most effective programs last between one and three months. Not only do participants spend extended amounts of time in inpatient facilities, but they often live in closed environments and have limited contact with the outside world. This gives them the chance to place all of their focus on getting well, and on learning strategies to stay that way. Being supported throughout the early stages of recovery is important. With the help and support of relatives and friends, those seeking addiction treatment have the highest likelihoods of experiencing positive outcomes.
Drug rehab in Florida helps people rediscover themselves by freeing them from the bonds of addiction, encouraging more self-awareness, and inciting growth across all life areas. After successful completion of rehab, patients are more confident, better able to handle their responsibilities, and better able to maintain healthy and mutually fulfilling relationships. Following are five ways to show your support as your loved one makes this incredibly important step towards wholeness and all-around wellness.
Start Educating Yourself About Addiction and the Recovery Process
Unless you’ve personally dealt with addiction, it may be difficult to understand why someone has such a hard time with it. The decision to stop taking actions that diminish your health and negatively affect every area of your life might seem like a simple and straightforward one. However, for someone with substance use disorder, temptations, cravings, triggers, and other factors can make this choice incredibly difficult. After many months or even years of drug use, even a person’s brain chemistry can have changed in ways that make quitting hard. The more that you learn while your loved one is in treatment; the more supportive you can be upon their return home.
Be Ready to Maintain a Substance-Free Environment
One of the best forms of support that you can provide is a clean, drug-free environment. You’ll come to better understand the benefits of doing so after you’ve taken the time to read up on addiction and its often lifelong effects. Although your loved one will have detoxed, spent time in therapy, and engaged in numerous forms of self-development, this does not mean that it is wise or even safe for this person to live in an environment that provides easy access to drugs post-treatment.
Accept That Treatment Might Extend Beyond Rehab
For some people, going to drug rehab in Florida is merely the first step in the treatment process. After one to three months in rehab, your loved one may decide that additional treatment is required for staying on course. Some people even opt to gradually transition back to life in the outside world by spending several months in sober living homes. Whatever your loved one decides, you should always try to be encouraging and supportive. Additional time away from a former environment may be necessary for ensuring that relapse doesn’t occur.
Be Willing to Take Part in Rehab Workshops If Asked
Rehab is an incredibly introspective experience for patients. They spend lots of time learning:
- The underlying causes of addiction
- How to listen to themselves
- How to communicate more effectively with others
- How to recognize temptations and triggers, and deal with them
- Coping strategies for dealing with stress without using
At times, however, treatment can be enhanced with input from relatives and close friends. As such, some Florida rehab centers host in-person or virtual workshops and encourage family members to attend. Among some of the goals of rehab workshops that include family members are:
- Teaching families about the dynamics of alcoholism and drug addiction
- Identifying enabling behaviors
- Building solid communication skills and teaching new communication strategies
- Detailing the ways in which family members are impacted by substance abuse
Your participation in these events is a great way to show your love and support, keep your loved one feeling motivated, and learn skills that you can use to provide continued support after treatment has ended.
Consider Therapy
Although workshops are great for learning more about addiction, discovering strategies for helping your loved one through moments of temptation, and creating a supportive home environment, workshops are not therapy. Family members of people who suffer from substance use disorder often experience a significant amount of trauma themselves. Moreover, many are guilty of maintaining enabling patterns, habits, and behaviors that actually contribute to and support addiction.
In therapy, you’ll learn the difference between enabling someone and supporting them, and how to set healthy boundaries. Going to therapy will also help you heal from the trauma that you’ve experienced as the result of your loved one’s addiction. If you or someone you love is suffering from drug addiction and you want to find a top-rated rehab in Florida, we can help. Call us today at 833-497-3808.