6 Ways To Help A Recovering Addict

When you love someone, the last thing you want to do is see them lose their lives to addiction. It's difficult watching them struggle to stay away from their addiction and confusing for you if you don't know what to do.

Watching someone you love losing themselves to their addiction is heartbreaking. They lose so much of themselves and even turn into a completely different person, someone they could even hardly recognize.

While we try to do what's best for those we love, we don't always know what to do when things get tough. Here are some tips to help you support a recovering addict to help them stay on track.

Educate Yourself

Trying to help someone who is recovering from addiction can be really difficult when you have no idea of how to help them. So get yourself informed about addiction and the substance the person took.

Drug abuse symptoms vary among the different types of drugs, and the effects of drugs are not the same. It can help you understand why someone chose to take that specific drug.

Learning about how recovery works can also prepare you for the challenges you'll face ahead. You can find a lot of information online, in libraries, and even by attending group therapy sessions.

Support

The recovering addict won't be the only one that needs support throughout this long road. Sometimes it's going to get tricky, especially if they fall back into old patterns; you'll need help to pull them out.

You'll need someone or even a group of people where you can discuss the challenges and trials you've faced living with a recovering addict. It will help keep you level-headed when you face any challenges with the addict, be it in your home or when you see them.

Don't Be Pushy

Sometimes being pushy about things helps get them done faster, but it could be driving someone with an addiction to the substance they abuse. If they're not ready to quit, then the work you'll be forcing them to do could be for nothing.

But you can't enable their behavior either because it can lead to further consequences. You have to try and support their decisions because you can only offer help and support if they accept it!

Trust

To help someone, they have to trust you and you have to trust them. You need to keep the lines of communication open even if they relapse.

You also have to try and understand why they would feel compelled to relapse, but never try to stop them from relapsing. The decisions and the consequences should be theirs entirely!

Go To Professionals

Doing it on your own is going to be exhausting because you can't keep your eye on them every minute of the day, especially not when you're at work. So use professional help where needed; they know how to tackle the situation.

If the substance abuse results from trauma or a mental health condition like depression, you can only do so much. But a licensed therapist is better equipped to help them overcome whatever they seem to struggle with.

Take Care Of Yourself

While helping someone through a challenging experience like recovery, you can forget and neglect yourself. So take some time out in the day for yourself to do whatever makes you happy!

Make sure you get enough sleep and that you're not bottling up emotions so you don't affect the recovering addict's progress. Take some time to feel your feelings; feel better; it'll help you be better support!