Drug Addiction Family Support

How Addiction Affects The Family

Addiction is an illness that affects more than one person. The tremors of addiction can be felt across family lines, where the toll of months and years of addiction can be seen and felt by anyone looking from the outside in.

Family therapy is a process that aims to resolve the relationship problems caused by addiction. It can also form part of an education programme, to help family members better understand their loved one’s addiction.

Although addiction treatment is firmly focussed on the person who is addicted, we recognise how important a role families play in their loved one’s recovery. This is why we offer family therapy to those who need it.

With family therapy, you will:

• Talk about your family problems
• Learn how to encourage your loved one in their recovery
• Address your own behaviours and habits that could be fuelling your loved one’s addiction
• Receive therapy to address anxieties you face. For example, you might benefit from Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Learn how to support your loved one should they relapse
• Become educated about addiction as well as the nuances of your loved one’s addiction, so you can directly relate to their problem.

—

Convincing Someone they Need Help

If you want to help your loved one, you can become actively involved in their recovery by convincing them they need to get help.

Thanks to education, people understand that they can’t treat a lump in their breast by themselves. But that doesn’t extend to addiction. 

Addicts often deny there is a problem at all, and when they do recognise there’s a problem, they try to help themselves.

This usually leads to them going ‘cold turkey’ or trying to control their consumption of alcohol or drugs. This is a good start – however, few people will succeed in overcoming their addiction or habit in this way.

To beat addiction, people need help.

This is the biggest challenge families face with addiction – convincing a loved one that they need to get help. It’s a big barrier to overcome because acceptance of a problem means that denial has been thrown out of the window.

Here are some ways to approach your loved one:

• Talk to them on your own – rather than call a family meeting, which can be intimidating, consider a more personal approach. Speak with your loved one by yourself to focus their attention on you and them. Discuss their use of alcohol and drugs openly, and how it isn’t normal.
• Wait for a relaxed time – you should never try and convince someone they need help when you’re angry or fighting. You will need to keep a level head and be patient with your loved one to get through to them.
• Make it personal and stick to ‘i’ – your family will be rightly concerned about your loved one’s addiction, but you need to reduce pressure on the individual to avoid them being spooked. Stick to ‘i’ rather than ‘we’ to focus the conversation on only two people. This will reduce the risk of them storming out.
• Set up a private consultation – if you have the means, you should set up a private consultation with a rehab centre. It’s a good idea to tell your loved one before you do it, rather than surprising them.
• Set up a family meeting – if the one on one discussion goes to pot, a family intervention meeting will be necessary. It will put your loved one on the spot and it will feel horrible for them, but addiction is a horrible disease. Sometimes, you have to go for the jugular to get through to someone.

If someone you love has a problem with alcohol or drugs, you can refer them to us at any time, and we can help you approach them in a safe way. We can also contact your loved one on your behalf if you have their permission.

—

Relationship Problems

Relationship problems are very common with families living with addiction. Whether it’s drug abuse or alcoholism, the difficulties family members face trying to help their loved one and convincing them that they need help are immeasurable. 

It’s normal to feel panicked, frustrated and annoyed that someone you love has an addiction. After all, no one asked for it.

Addiction is also something you can’t control, because in order for your loved one to beat their addiction, they have to willingly participate in recovery. This may lead you to a feeling of deep regret and a sense of feeling like a failure. 

Over time, relationship problems (rifts, anger, frustration, fights, stealing, etc.) peak and a deep sense of resentment can form. This toxic state of resentment is difficult to release and it can lead to people not speaking for the rest of their lives.

Most people who experience addiction need help to rebuild their relationships. Family therapy is a useful foundation for this.

The most important aspects of family therapy for relationship problems are talking therapies and educational workshops.

Talking therapies

Talking therapies are designed to iron out the biggest problems that families face with resentment and distrust caused by addiction. They are extremely useful for helping people come to terms with the problems they face.

They are also useful for resolving the habits and behaviours that families have (and are not aware of) that fuel their loved one’s addiction.

Some of the most relevant therapies include:

• Cognitive behavioural therapies (CBT)
• Dialectic behaviour therapy (DBT)
• Humanistic therapies
• Psychodynamic therapies

Typically, talking therapies happen in a clinic environment or a private hospital. They can include one-to-one therapies or family therapies.

Educational workshops

The purpose of educational workshops in family therapy is to educate family members about addiction so they can help their loved one.

There’s a lot of disinformation and stigma surrounding addiction. Educational workshops cut through the noise to provide factual, valuable information.

Education also forms an important aspect of preventing relapse. If you can identify the warning signs of relapse and when there’s a problem with your loved one, you will be able to make an intervention before they drink or do drugs again.

Please call us on 0333 444 3420 for help with addiction. Our addiction network covers the whole of the UK and we specialise in helping families get back to normal.