Addiction Affects Everyone: How To Cope When A Loved One Is An Addict

Over forty years ago, it was recognized that support groups were needed for alcoholics who did not want to be addicted to alcohol anymore. As the popularity and success of these support groups grew, so did the recognition that family members dealing with the alcoholic's behavior needed support. Fast-forward to the present day, and now there are support groups for addicts of all kinds and for their families. If you need support and a safe, anonymous place to talk about how you feel about a loved one being an addict, here is how to cope and find help.

Ask Your Therapist

Many therapists have direct access lines to the support groups that are available in your area. Your therapist may even run one or more family support addiction workshops in connection with the clinic in which he or she works. Your therapist can give you a list of the places and times that these groups meet, which gives you the option of what workshops and groups you would like to attend.

Work Through Your Own Twelve Steps

Step programs for addicts often have accompanying programs for the non-addicts in their lives. Groups of addicts and non-addict family members commune to talk about what the addict's behavior has done to the family, how everyone feels about their own situation, and whether or not they can continue the program and move through their own twelve steps together.

Some non-addicts tend to move through the twelve steps a lot faster than their addict family members. So, it may take some time before you are on the same page as your family member who is a recovering addict. You may even find that you have to revisit certain steps when your family member backslides or struggles with a certain step.

Understanding How It Affects Minor Children and Helping Them

Addiction does not just affect the adults in the home. It affects the children, too. Helping your children understand why Mom/Dad/an extended family member has a problem is not always easy, but a family counselor can help explain it to your kids in the simplest terms possible. Then it is important that minor children attend their own therapy sessions to get a better understanding of the situation at home, and why the children feel the way that they do about things that going on and things that are changing. Since this can follow kids into adulthood, it is better to get them some help now rather than later. Contact a company like Let's Get Real to learn more.


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