Family Support and Addiction Recovery: 9 Helpful Tips

How Can Families Support a Loved One Entering Addiction Recovery?

Saying goodbye to a loved one who is entering drug addiction treatment can be highly stressful.

For families with a member struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), the separation from a cherished individual, whether it’s a husband, wife, or sibling, can be challenging to handle.

If you are unfamiliar with addiction and its consequences, this can be a confusing time for everyone. Many ask: How can families support a loved one entering addiction recovery?

Watching a close friend or family member begin addiction treatment is never easy. Still, it is also essential to remain supportive in the most appropriate ways possible.

These include educating yourself, listening, and communicating openly. It may also involve helping those struggling with substance misuse find the best path to recovery, which may consist of residential care.

As a family member with a loved one in addiction treatment, it may take some time to adjust to the changes recovery may bring.

For example, while the person is receiving treatment, you may see them less while still trusting that they will have everything they need to get healthy.

This adjustment is often harder said than done but no less a worthy endeavor.

In this guide by GateHouse Treatment, we will explore how families can support their loved ones in treatment alongside nine tips that can make the process easier for everyone involved.

GateHouse Treatment has been offering family support and addiction recovery for our patients through compassionate rehabilitation with multiple levels of care for years, so click here to learn more about us.  

Click here to read other blogs about addiction treatment, available therapies, and your way out of the chaos addiction can bring.

Overview of How Addiction Works

Recovering from substance abuse often requires much more than rehabilitation.

For many, when detox and rehab are complete, long-term success will be determined by how the person successfully re-enters society.

Like all humans, individuals recovering from addiction need people to lean on and social circles they can turn to, as addiction treatment can, at times, feel isolating and even shameful.

Ultimately, recognizing how to meet their needs best can go a long way toward keeping them on the path to sobriety.

9 Tips to Help Loved Ones Offering Family Support Throughout Addiction

If you have a loved one in treatment, here are a few tips for families supporting their journey.

 1. Understand Your Role

Often, ongoing success and sobriety begin and end with the person experiencing active addiction. Still, it’s vital to recognize that it can be challenging to recover alone.

Family and friends of those in recovery must work to recognize how they can be helpful, healing, and supportive of their loved ones in recovery.

Also, speaking with their loved ones’ treatment specialists can help them understand your role.

It’s also essential to encourage those close to who may be misusing substances to seek professional help as they need it.

2. Avoid Triggers or Putting Them in Positions Where They Used to Consume/Engage in Addictions

Avoiding triggers or acting as a stumbling block for those you know may be resisting relapse or substance use.

It’s also essential families realize that temptation can become exceptionally high in the early stages of their sobriety when individuals feel most vulnerable.

3. Utilize Social Support Whenever Necessary

Studies have proven it is hugely beneficial for recovering addicts to have social support.

When family members and friends play an active role in an individual’s addiction recovery plan, it increases the client’s chances of getting sober and minimizing relapse.

4. Embrace Limited Communication Treatment

Participating in addiction recovery can often feel like a full-time job. It’s common for families not to hear much from their loved ones since they started treatment.

At the same time, less contact can make any person worry or feel concerned; it’s a natural part of the process. Reducing contact can also go hand in hand with addressing the codependent relationships that can develop in addiction.

If this sounds like you, you are not alone. Fortunately, being part of a supportive person’s healing process in recovery means understanding that the treatment center may limit the person’s contact.

Furthermore, privacy rules prevent most facilities in America from sharing detailed information about the day-to-day happenings of rehab.

By embracing limited contact, you’re helping your loved one focus on the task at hand: sobriety.

5. Be Supportive and Compassionate Throughout Changes

Families can offer optimal support by empathizing with loved ones in treatment as they acclimate to an unfamiliar place surrounded by people they don’t know.

Additionally, detox can be highly physically draining, and a sober living facility may be a shocking experience for first-time attendees, making compassion critical.

6. Communicate When It’s Possible and Effective

Many factors contribute to decreased contact with loved ones in residential treatment.

One way to offset this is to be available when your loved one is ready to talk. If they’re in a different state, note any time zone differences and do your best to keep the conversation light.

For some clients, it can feel liberating to talk about their journey with a friend or family member from home. Others may want to chat about the latest TV show or football game.

While it may feel frustrating to receive limited phone calls or wait long periods between updates, it’s important to remember that the outcome is worth it.

Whether an individual is detoxing, attending group therapy, or seeking employment after getting clean, these goals take extreme focus and dedication.

7. Educate Yourself

Many misunderstand addiction, resulting in less compassion for those experiencing it, making it vital to seek suitable education.

The variety of substance use disorders presents different risks. Because no two people are alike, it can be challenging to feel like you fully understand your loved one’s condition.

Many find educating themselves on their family member’s addiction and learning more about the associated symptoms and risks helps tremendously.

Finally, understanding that addiction is a brain disease and some people are more susceptible to it than others is also critical knowledge.

8. Get to Know Your Loved One Now, On a New Level

In addition to medical education, now is a great time to get to know your loved one better without their substance use.

Without prying for information, do your best to have a vulnerable conversation with your recovering friend or family member, which can help you understand their circumstances and past choices.

Don’t be afraid to ask how they would like you to hold them accountable for life changes they’re planning to make while acknowledging their hard work.

9. Try to Forgive and Heal

Addiction affects more than those who actively use substances.

Many families also wrestle with frustrations and hurt they’ve felt as a direct result of their loved one’s addiction.

Addiction treatment models continue to evolve, and there are now support groups for the family members of addicts, providing them with healing and informative resources.

These offerings help ensure that families can recover and move forward after their loved one’s addiction.

It’s Okay to Seek Help for Addiction When You Need It

When a friend or family decides to undergo drug addiction treatment, there are several reasons you can hope for change, as this is one of the most significant actions toward genuine healing they can take.

Seeking help is not an easy decision, and though their past actions may have hurt you, forgiving the past can go a long way toward healing.

The stronger you are, the more present you will be able to be for your recovering loved one!

So, keep learning and fighting for those you love, wrapped up in the chains of addiction.

Fortunately, addiction recovery is possible.

GateHouse Treatment That Understands Family Support Matters in Addiction Recovery

If you or your loved one are still searching for a drug rehab facility that can help you get on the path to long-term sobriety, GateHouse Treatment is here to help.

We offer safe housing, expert clinical care, and extended treatment plans beyond the traditional 28 days.

For more information on how we can help, call (855) 448-3588 or click here to schedule a free consultation.

It’s never too late to change your life for the better and find a substance-free life worth living.