It is not secret that families struggle with the impact of substance abuse. When a person fights with drug abuse or alcoholism, everyone suffers. Family and friends see the negative effects of substance abuse and it often starts a downward spiral that affects them as well. Often, they are faced with financial strain to fund the addiction, legal problems or poor health. It is painful for a loved one to sit idly by and watch someone they care for wither away.
It is an emotional burden to watch your loved one struggle and be in desperate need of addiction treatment. Know that it is not just the abuser that needs drug treatment; the entire family can benefit from addiction counseling. In fact, studies show that families who enter drug treatment together, even if the family has no substance abuse issues and wants to help the abuser heal, there is a better success rate for sobriety and for the family being able to be a functional unit once more.
Family means everything. They are the people who are with you until the end. Often, it is a family member or very close friend that prompts a person to seek drug treatment. This could be by means of an intervention. Interventions are powerful, because there is strength in numbers. The family gathers with the user and tells them how much their addiction hurts each one of them individually and in the group. Many times, an addict is unaware that their family knows how strong their addiction is…or if they even had an addiction to begin with. Many try to hide their addictions from their loved ones, because they know how detrimental it would be if it were out in the open.
However, the issue of substance abuse cannot remain hidden for long. Alcoholism can result in a DUI made public in the newspaper, drug addiction can end with legal troubles, like arrests for having a controlled substance in your person or even paraphernalia. One way or another, drug addiction finds its way to the surface. Would you rather have your family find out because of legal trouble or health issues, or because you have decided to start addiction therapy before it gets out of hand?
Vista Taos Drug Treatment Center in Taos, New Mexico focuses on the importance of family therapy and counseling during addiction treatment. With therapy sessions that focus on helping everyone, it can help to rebuild the trust that was broken and help ease the guilt of the abuser for the strain they put on their loved ones. It is a fact that family therapy helps everyone work their way back to how life was before the addiction broke the family bonds. It may never be 100% the same after someone has dealt with a serious drug addiction, but it can get better. Life after successful addiction therapy always gets better. Time can heal the wounds that addiction caused and drug treatment is an essential tool for your family to start feeling complete again.
Remember, if you have a loved one who has a substance abuse problem and is not currently seeking the professional help of an addiction therapy clinic, act now. You can call and speak to counselors that can guide you with helpful advice, teaching you the right words to say and the right actions to take to save your loved one and convince them that drug treatment is the right road to take. The more family members involved in the intervention, the better. Keep in mind that it should only be immediate family: the ones who have been affected the most by the addiction. There is no need to tell extended family or friends who are not aware of the situation. Remember to be calm, positive and extend your feelings of affection to the person with the substance abuse problem. Knowing they will have a support system on the outside of addiction therapy as well as joining them on the inside will make all the difference during their inpatient drug treatment process.
