One of the most challenging seasons in life is watching a loved one suffer through addiction, which often affects their relationships, careers, and interests. For some, it can feel unnatural to learn how to love them without enabling their addiction. Fortunately, there are several ways to ensure that you are able to offer the proper support.
1. Offer Transportation to Meetings
You can offer transportation to and from meetings, which can work to aid your loved one in the process and help them to recover easier. If the meeting allows it, you can even offer to attend each session as a companion.
2. Avoid Having Pity or Anger
Pity and anger are two emotions that rarely have an positive affect on those with addiction, as it often pushes them away or enables their behavior. Work to have a neutral attitude towards their addiction for healthy boundaries.
3. Don't Lend Money
Those with addiction commonly ask for money to maintain their appetite for the substance that they use. The experts from any Alcohol Addiction Rehab Center say to avoid lending money, even if they suggest that it's for another purpose. This will often backfire and enable their behavior.
4. Avoid Threats
Threats are often fueled by anger or frustration and often have little affect on those with addictions. Threats will not work to break the addiction, as professional therapy and treatment is often needed. Threats can also discredit the individual and prevent the addict from taking the words seriously.
5. Listen
Listening is often one of the only ways of helping your loved one endure an addiction for extra support. They will likely be experiencing a wide range of emotions due to their frustration with the addiction, making it important to simply listen and offer emotional support without any lecturing involved.
6. Research the Addiction
Researching the addiction will educate you on common side effects and behaviors that are associated with the disease while learning how to cope with it emotionally. You can also learn the common treatments available and the most effective ways of finding employee-assistance programs for your loved one.
7. Allow Them to Experience the Consequences
Instead of protecting your loved one from the consequences of their addiction, it's important to allow them to experience it firsthand to understand the ramifications. Allow them to lose their job, money, and friendships to understand the reality of the situation.
Although it can be a struggle to offer support to someone going through addiction, there are several ways to show that you care while still having the necessary boundaries established. Just by being someone in their life who does not distance themselves due to the addiction, it can be one more thing they need for full recovery.