How Can the Family be Incorporated into Recovery?

While addiction recovery is achieved through work done by yourself, family members, and other loved ones’ support is essential. It is difficult to go through addiction recovery on your own, which is why it is crucial to have a healthy support system. If one of your family members or friends is in addiction recovery, there are many ways you can show support that you may not have realized.

Ask How You Can Help

Before your loved one goes into rehab, ask them if there is anything you can take care of while they are gone. Helping them can involve watching their pets, picking up their mail, or several other things. While some of these tasks might seem minimal compared to what your loved one in rehab is going through, alleviating some of their worries will be a great help. Your loved one must focus solely on their recovery when in an addiction treatment program, and having someone take care of things at home can give them peace of mind. 

Do Your Research

While you will never know exactly what your loved one is going through, you can keep yourself informed. Do plenty of research on the treatment facility to which your loved one has been admitted. This can help you understand what their day-to-day might look like and the programs they will be taking part in. 

If you are interested in learning about the specific type of addiction your loved one is experiencing, there are plenty of resources online. Knowing more about their addiction may help some be more empathetic to their loved ones’ feelings and actions. Educating yourself on addiction may also help reduce the stigma surrounding addiction. If you feel any shame or guilt that your loved one is struggling with substances, then educating yourself may help relieve you of these feelings. You may also want to talk to someone experienced in treating addiction or someone who has gone through addiction themselves. 

Support Their Good Decisions

If your loved one has decided to get sober, then they have already made one of the best decisions they ever could. Tell them how proud you are that they made this decision and ensure them you will be there as support. 

Your loved one may come out of treatment with plenty of new hobbies, including types of exercise, creating art, and more. It may be helpful if you participate in new hobbies with your loved one. This can show your support and give you something new and fun to do together. 

Those coming out of treatment may want to continue seeing a therapist, which should always be supported. Seeing a therapist means that they are continually trying to improve themselves, which is something to be proud of.

Your loved one might want to change up their diet entirely to live a healthier life in some cases. Even if you aren’t ready to shake up your diet, you should support their decision to be healthy. Buying healthy groceries and cooking more nutritious meals can be an excellent first step.  

Helping Them Stay Sober

After your loved one has left their treatment program, there is still work they will need to do. While they will have better tools to combat temptations, it is vital to help them avoid relapse. There are many ways you can do this, including assisting them to keep their living space free of temptations. 

It is also essential to make sure you are keeping up with your loved one. Ask them how they are feeling and if they are experiencing any struggles since coming home. When doing this, make sure you are listening and engaged in the conversation. 

Choice House’s Family Therapy Program

At Choice House, we believe the family’s involvement with one’s addiction recovery is crucial. We have set up a family therapy workshop, which takes place over three days and allows family members to better connect with their loved one in recovery. Our family therapy workshop is held periodically from Friday-Sunday and lasts from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Led by Jill Krush, our chief clinical officer, this program will include role-playing, lectures from experts, and more. Through our family therapy workshop, you will get a better understanding of what your loved one is going through and information on how you can help. Those that have taken part in our family therapy workshop have praised both the program itself as well as Jill Krush. 

Having a family’s support can make a world of difference to those going through addiction recovery. Even if your loved one has entered a treatment program in a facility, there are many ways you can help. Taking care of things at home and doing research about your loved one’s addiction can make a significant impact. It is also crucial that you assist them in staying sober after they leave treatment. Choice House offers a family therapy program through which you can further engage with your loved one during their recovery. Our therapy program is hosted by one of our expert staff members and allows families to learn more about the recovery process. The program also helps families connect to their loved ones in recovery and learn the ways they help. It takes course over three days and is usually held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Make the first step in recovery by calling Choice House at (720) 577-4422 today.