Apart from the physical and mental damage that a patient goes through, addiction also takes a big toll on their family and social lives. Addiction damages social and family dynamics. The family loses an integral part of its well-being. With the erosion of trust and weakened communication within the family, handling the addiction recovery process can be overwhelming for an individual. There are, however, ways that a family can be helpful in the addiction recovery process, as highlighted below.
Help in Building Effective Coping Skills
After the treatment process, going back home can be a hectic process. The patient might struggle to build productive relationships or handle other needs within the community. The chances of the patient getting stressed are higher. Avoiding stressful situations is hard, but the patient can achieve full recovery with the right coping strategies. The family can be instrumental in the addiction recovery process by helping an individual develop strategies and coping skills. With unexpected losses, finding a new job, resolving personal conflicts, and handling the addiction itself, the chances of an individual getting stressed are higher. When the family helps an afflicted individual build effective coping skills, achieving full recovery becomes easier.
Encourage Effective Medication
The addiction recovery journey can be confusing and demanding. Most patients find it hard to cope with the amount of medication they have to take to stay sober and regain their energy. They need encouragement to handle the process. As a family, you can help in the addiction recovery process by encouraging the patient to adhere to the medication and treatment. This also means being strict about treatment and keeping up with the doctor’s appointments. With effective medication, a patient can also avoid secondary illnesses that might affect the addiction recovery process. If the patient struggles with co-occurring mental health issues, encouraging them to adhere to effective medication becomes beneficial.
Provide Social Support and Encourage Communal Interaction
Despite the broken trust and stress within the family, the patient needs to have a platform that helps them concentrate on the recovery process. As a family, you can contribute and enable an effective addiction recovery process by providing social support to the patient. The family needs to reduce friction and mend a broken relationship. The family members should understand that the individual acted mostly under the influence of addictive substances. When there is no friction among family members, addressing the underlying issues becomes easier. The presence of unity and harmony among family members can also help prevent relapses. It becomes easier for the individual to retain their usefulness through communal interactions.
Provision of Proper Nutritional Needs
The well-being of the patient depends on what they eat and drink. The individual should eat well and maintain a healthy lifestyle. After their time in an addiction treatment center, finding a stable platform to allow them to eat well can be hard. This is because to eat well, you need finances. The family can be instrumental in the recovery process by providing proper nutritional needs to the patient. This also means looking for a nutritionist to learn more and understand the best foods to take. By eating well and staying healthy, the medication proves effective too. It becomes easier for the patient to regain energy and be productive with a proper nutritional plan.
Encourage Participation in Peer Support Groups
As much as you want to help your loved ones, understanding what they are going through can be hard. They need a social group or a professional who can empathize with them and help them feel settled at home. Peer support groups are vital in this case. Getting proper guidance and learning life skills becomes easier when they participate in peer support groups. In such groups, they can learn coping strategies, the relevance of medication, and how to build productive relationships in the community.
As a family, you can either make the addiction recovery process a success or a failure. The support you provide to the patient is paramount. Family members should learn and understand how and why their input matters in the addiction recovery process.
