Addiction is a severe condition wherein one cannot stop doing something harmful to one’s body. If you know someone who’s getting hooked on an unhealthy habit, do all you can to get them out of it and help them to have a regular and healthy life.
As you go through helping someone recover from their addiction, there are plenty of ways in which you can be a great hand. The first step in helping a loved one go through their addiction recovery is to understand their struggle.
By supporting them, their road to recovery can be quicker and less frustrating. Moreover, listed below are some simple ways to help a loved one through addiction recovery:
- Suggest Recovery Center
It’s always a good idea to recommend treatment facilities to a person who has made the decision to leave their addiction and begin a new life. Having professional help will ensure proper recovery and keep them on the right path for as long as possible. Additionally, they can also offer some medical assistance that could aid in faster addiction recovery.
As you search for a suitable recovery center, ensure that you try to look for one that meets their needs in the best way possible. Some can only cater to a limited number of addiction types as they’d like to focus their expertise on that matter.
However, if your loved one is suffering from more than one addiction, you should search for a facility that can address all of their issues at once. You can look into facilities like Jackson House Addiction Treatment & Recovery Centers or find similar ones in your area.
- Offer New Hobbies
To help your loved one divert their attention away from their addiction, introducing a new hobby might be a helpful plan. This way, they can think about other things instead of resisting the urge to step away from their addiction. This will help them feel at ease, and it’ll be more enjoyable for them if you take part in their new hobby.
There are plenty of hobbies that you could suggest to your loved one going through addiction recovery. You could try introducing arts and crafts, yoga, exercising, baking, woodworking, or hiking.
As you offer new hobbies, try to support them as much as you can so they can push their way into starting a new thing. This would be an excellent approach to divert their attention away from their struggles and enable their interests to take over whenever they feel the need to relapse into their addiction.
- Provide Encouragement
While it might be tempting to express disappointment because of their addiction, you should avoid doing so. It will simply dampen their spirits and make them uninspired to continue with their addiction treatment. Instead, provide words of encouragement to give them hope and a better perspective.
To prevent yourself from saying harsh words, think about the lessons you’ve learned from this experience. Expressing gratitude for what you have now will help you move on.
Constantly reminding your loved ones of your disappointment over their mistakes won’t benefit them at all. Teach them to overcome their addiction by giving them as much reassurance as possible so that they can bounce back and stand on their feet again.
Gently remind them that the only person who can initiate change is themselves, and those around them are merely there to provide support. In addition, tell them the importance of having self-discipline so they can overcome their addiction and get back on track.
- Never Give In
Since your loved one is special in your heart, they might find a way to let you give in to their simple requests. If they’re struggling with an alcohol addiction, they may try to persuade you to buy a bottle in exchange for something. Giving in to this request can intensify their temptation, and this can greatly affect the way they deal with their alcohol addiction.
No matter how convincing your loved one is, never purchase or let them do something that might bring them back to their addiction. Prevention will always be the key. If they’re suggesting something you could do, think twice or thrice and see if it could affect their recovery.
- Be A Good Listener
Sometimes all a person needs is someone who can be a good listener to all of their problems. While some might want to blame them as they’re in control of their actions, being open about it is already a difficult conversation to begin.
If your loved one who’s going through addiction recovery opens up to you about their difficulties, don’t play the blame card but try to listen sincerely to every word they say. Even though they’re the ones who placed themselves in this predicament, having the strength to overcome their addiction and go forward with their healthy life is already a courageous act.
Listening won’t cost you a thing, only your time and understanding. As they open up to you, try to motivate and encourage them that it’s a battle they can survive. This would help them to feel better and keep themselves on track.
- Allow Them To Move At Their Own Pace
Recovering from an addiction isn’t as easy as it looks. Just because they got addicted easily doesn’t mean that the recovery period would be the same. While it might not be the best view to see them struggling to recover from their addiction, you should let them go at their own pace. And trust that they’ll cross the most challenging bridge they’ve ever had to go through.
There’s no way to speed up the recovery process, especially if you keep on pushing them to recover faster. The only thing you can do is support them by feeling better and encouraging them to let go of their addiction.
If they’re not willing to fight their own battles, there’s not much you can do but try to encourage them to break their habits.
The Verdict
Going through addiction recovery is difficult for everyone, especially since it’s a habit you’ve been doing for months or years.
As your loved one goes through this dreadful process, try to be as supportive as possible. Offer help when needed and try to divert their attention as much as possible. The more they have a great support system, the more they can keep themselves motivated for recovery.
