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A solid support system is one of the most crucial aspects of ensuring success in addiction recovery. While friends and peers are important, family’s role in addiction recovery is perhaps one of the most significant areas of support in your journey to recovery.
Support from family in addiction recovery increases your chances of successful addiction treatment in San Diego. And being able to rely on specific trusted family members can improve how you adjust to sober living and help prevent relapse.
However, alcohol addiction and family relationships can be tricky to navigate. Alcohol use disorder can negatively impact family dynamics, weaken communication, and cause distrust. Your family members could have inadvertently taken on specific roles during your addiction, such as the enabler, scapegoat, hero who takes care of the family, lost child who hides from the problem, or the mascot who tries to alleviate the situation using humor.
But alcohol addiction treatment in San Diego at BOLD Health can help you and your family heal from the wounds of your addiction and take on more supportive, healthier roles leading to your recovery.
Defining “Family” in Alcohol Addiction Recovery
Unfortunately, not everyone will have a supportive biological nuclear family to support you during addiction recovery. When defining alcohol addiction and “family,” it’s okay to consider supportive individuals in your life who may or may not be biologically related to you.
Of course, uncles, aunts, cousins, and grandparents can be part of your support system. But your “family” can also include close friends and godparents, as long as you trust them to support you.
“Family,” in this sense, includes anyone who has consistent emotional involvement in your life. When thinking about who you can lean on during your alcohol addiction treatment, choose individuals you consider family – those with whom you have strong emotional ties and who you would like to have by your side during potential family therapy sessions.
The Importance of Family During Alcohol Addiction Treatment
You’ll benefit significantly when family members are actively involved in your addiction recovery. Some of those benefits include:
- You’ll be less likely to require hospitalization.
- You’ll be less likely to experience relapse.
- You’ll be more likely to adhere to treatment.
- You’ll be more likely to recover from alcohol use disorder.
- You’ll be less likely to be involved in the criminal justice system.
You aren’t the only one who will benefit, either. Your family members will also benefit from playing an active role in your recovery journey. They’ll receive education on the disease of addiction and learn valuable, healthy coping strategies to support you and your recovery.
Family members may also benefit from watching your progress. They may even choose to get mental health support for themselves to help them work through the hurt caused by addiction.
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There are several crucial roles family members play during alcohol addiction treatment. Their support can look like:
- helping you follow through with your treatment plans
- noticing any significant behavioral changes signaling relapse
- advocating for your needs
- finding treatment options and helping you choose the right one
- intervening in a crisis
- providing pertinent information to providers to help determine the proper treatment
- maintaining health records for providers
At BOLD Health, our clinicians at our alcohol rehab in San Diego encourage family members to be actively involved in your treatment by attending family therapy sessions, staying diligent about your treatment, and providing a healthy recovery environment outside of treatment.
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Addiction and Family: What Your Family Can Do to Help You Recover from Alcohol Addiction
Recovery from addiction doesn’t just occur during treatment. It’s a lifelong journey. That means family members must stay diligent about helping you remain sober now and far into the future. The roles members of your family play in addiction recovery may change over time, but it’s crucial always to have a solid support system to help you maintain sobriety.
There are several things family members can do during your addiction treatment that they can continue to do once treatment is over. To build a solid foundation of how to be supportive during your recovery, here are some things they can do to help you through your recovery.
Educate themselves: Addiction is a powerful and complex illness. While your family may think they understand, there’s much to learn. Substance use disorder (SUD) involves the brain, behavior, and physiological changes. Understanding how addiction affects the body and mind gives you essential insight into why breaking free is so challenging.
Join a peer group: Another excellent way to support you during your addiction treatment is by joining a peer group of individuals going through similar situations. The pain caused by addiction can be challenging to navigate. But when your family members can discuss it with others who truly understand, they’ll gain valuable support, knowledge, and the understanding that they aren’t alone.
Attend family therapy sessions: If your alcohol addiction treatment in San Diego includes family therapy sessions, it’s important that your family members dutifully attend. Family therapy sessions can:
- improve family dynamics
- establish healthy boundaries
- allow for open discussion
- address communication issues
- establish a “team” atmosphere in your recovery
Avoid enabling: Your family may naturally want to protect you from the natural consequences associated with your addiction. But if they do that, you won’t stay motivated to make better choices and continue on the path to recovery. Your family
must allow you to go through the recovery process guided by your clinicians to ensure recovery success.
Provide emotional support: One of the most vital roles in helping someone recover from addiction is to offer emotional support. By encouraging you, providing positive reinforcement, truly listening, giving support when you request it, and maintaining a positive addiction recovery environment, they’ll significantly increase your chances of recovery without relapse.
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Trust BOLD Health for High-Quality, Supportive Addiction Treatment in San Diego
Whether you or a loved one is battling alcohol addiction, seeking professional help as soon as possible is essential. At BOLD Health, we recognize that everyone’s journey is unique – both to addiction and toward recovery. As a leading alcohol rehab in San Diego, we consider your individuality when we curate the ideal treatment program to ensure your recovery success.
We provide experienced, compassionate, and effective care to those experiencing addiction, help the families heal from the ravages of addiction, and arm them with the tools, support, and knowledge to support and care for their loved ones (and themselves!)
Contact us for more information about our options for alcohol treatment in San Diego. There’s never a better time to start the journey to recovery than right now.