Friday 27th September 2013
Yesterday, I wrote an article speaking about how you can find out if your child is an addict. You can read it here:
Today, we’ll be speaking about how you should help your child in addiction recovery.
Getting your son or daughter into addiction treatment is the most important part of guiding them back on the right path but it’s not the only one. Helping & supporting your child through this tough time is just as vital.
There’s a saying that goes, ‘you gotta think before you act’ & it’s very important that you as a parent do this. Before you say or do anything, think about how it will affect your child. For example, if your loved one has just come out of alcohol rehab & you usually love to have a casual drink every now & then, stop doing that it & make sure that you remove every trace of liquor from your household.
If your child is still in addiction treatment, understand that you’re the most important person in their life at this moment in time.
When you’re mingling with them during your visits at the clinic, communicate with them in a positive manner that will be beneficial towards their recovery. This isn’t a time to be belittling or begrudging them. Your loved one wants to know that you’re on their side, so make sure that you’re constantly supporting & motivating them.
Once they’ve left the rehab centre, it doesn’t mean that your child is now fully recovered & things can go back to normal. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Addiction is an incurable brain disease & recovery from it is a lifelong commitment to remaining clean & sober.
Many addicts that have completed addiction treatment struggle in early recovery & one of the main reasons for this is because the environment that they’re returning to isn’t beneficial to what they’re trying to achieve.
This is where you as a parent come in. You have to ensure that the environment that your child is returning to is conducive to their recovery efforts. Here are some of the things that you can do:
- Make sure that you’re available to speak to whenever your child feels like offloading
- Ensure that they eat healthily & drink lots of water
- Try not to speak about their recovery too much (it creates pressure)
- Don’t expect too much from your child (same as above!)
- Make peace with the events that have happened & move on as a family
- Do everything in your power to ensure that nothing can trigger any cravings, for example, remove alcohol from the home or anything that reminds them of the addiction days.
Ideally, you would love your child to never use drugs or drink alcohol again but unfortunately this isn’t always possible. Relapses are a common occurrence for many addicts in early addiction recovery.
If you find out that your child has gone back to their addictive ways, it’s not the end of the world. It simply means that they need further treatment inside a rehab centre again. It will be demoralizing for everyone but try to look at it in a positive manner instead. For example, they’ll be better prepared for long term addiction recovery this time!
We can provide you with immediate admission into the best private addiction recovery centres near you. Call us now & let one of our counsellors provide you with free, expert & confidential advice!
Article by We Do Recover