Substance abuse doesn’t only affect you. It also affects the people in your life. It impacts your friends and family. Drug or alcohol addiction has devastating effects on your health. When that happens, it doesn’t only hurt you. It also hurts your loved ones because if they love you, they wouldn’t want to see you hurt, harmed, or in pain.
What Does Addiction Do to Families?
Alcohol or drug addiction can put a strain on families and lead to short-term and long-term effects. If you struggle with alcohol addiction, that could lead to violent behavior when you’re drunk. You may hurt your spouse and children without even knowing it. If you’re not in full control of your actions, you won’t be able to stop. That can be frightening to your kids or spouse. If you’re still in school, drug abuse can leave your parents hurt and devastated, wondering how they could help you.
What Does Addiction Do to You?
Addiction affects your behavior. You may start lying to your loved ones. If they see you drinking, you lie and say it’s your first for the evening when it’s already been the fifth or more. You start stealing from home to fund your drug addiction. You start losing interest in everything you used to love. You become more secretive. You’re irritable and no longer like to talk. That’s because the only thing you want to focus on is your next hit or fix. That’s how addiction can change you. If you recognize the problem and don’t want to wait until it’s too late. Get professional help. Look for an Arizona treatment center and enroll yourself in a rehab program.
Can Family Support Help?
Rehabs with high success rates recognize the value of familial support. That’s why you’ll find treatment centers that offer family counseling. They encourage the participation of loved ones in the sessions, giving patients a chance to mend and re-establish connections with the people who matter to them. In some cases where addiction has led to severe trauma or rifts on the part of the family, counseling sessions with the family can do a lot to help patients make amends.
Does Family Counseling Work?
It’s an effective approach, allowing patients to lay the groundwork and show their loved ones how much they’ve changed, how much they want to get better, and how they regret how their actions damaged their loved one’s trust or confidence in them. Counseling doesn’t magically make the anger, frustration, and hurt disappear. But it gives both parties a chance to talk things out, air out their emotions, process them, and determine what they can do to move on from there.
Which Rehab Should You Choose?
If you believe that support from friends and family matters, find a rehab center that believes the same. Some prevent communication between patients and families, thinking this will help patients focus on their recovery efforts. But if you have a solid support system at home, let them help your recovery. Give them a chance to be a part of your journey. Choose a rehab facility that offers family counseling sessions as a part of their rehab program.
