Even though Valentine’s Day has passed, we strive every day to show love to our family and friends. However, loving someone close to you who is struggling with addiction can be a challenge. Learning how to give love and support in this unique situation is something that needs to be practiced every day during someone’s journey to recovery. Read below for 5 tips about how to love someone with addiction.
1. Don’t take it personally.
Your loved one didn’t start their addiction to spite you, they also aren’t continuing to use to cause you hurt and stress. No matter how much you love someone, love does not cause them to heal. What you can do? Educate yourself on addiction and on treatment options, read books and seek the advice of others who have gone through similar situations. Remember, this isn’t about you – it’s about your loved one. They need you to have the right mindset to help them.
2. Stay Hopeful.
Keeping in good spirits during this testing time is easier said than done. However, staying hopeful about the situation is an effective way to keep both yourself and your loved one motivated. In some cases, your addicted loved one may have lost all hope. They need you to believe in them since they might not believe in themselves.
3. Communicate with them.
Open lines of communication will allow your loved one to reach out to you when they need support instead of turning to using to deal with stress, pain or confusion. Family or couples counseling could also be an option for working through life’s hardships with your loved one.
4. Learn the difference between “helping” and “enabling.”
Many think they are helping their loved ones, when really, they are just making it possible for them to continue their use and abuse of drugs.
5. Don’t wait until the situation is at its worst, reach out for help NOW.
Waiting for a situation to escalate makes it more difficult to line up the help that is needed when it gets to that point. New Day Recovery is just a phone call away. Admissions can be reached at (330) 953-3300.