How to Talk to Your Loved One About Rehab
When you notice the symptoms of addiction in your loved one, it can be hard to see them suffer. This is when you might want to consider a plan to talk to them about getting rehab. According to the Mayo Clinic, an intervention might be essential when approaching a loved one about addiction. Still, how to talk to your loved one about rehab might not seem clear — and it might take time to plan out how you want to approach it and follow through.
Let’s start with some suggestions of how to get ready:
- Practice ahead of time how you want to specifically phrase your words to sensitively approach your loved one about considering enrolling in rehab.
- Always refer to facts from researching addiction treatment and rehab. During this conversation, remember to show empathy toward them and remember that substance use disorder is a disease.
- It’s important to approach your loved one alone when it’s the first time talking to them about rehab. You don’t want them to feel overwhelmed or outnumbered.
- Be careful with the specific jargon used during the conversation. Certain words can be construed as judgmental, such as calling someone an “addict”, “alcoholic” or “user.”
- Be mindful of what state they are in when you speak with them, and don’t try to confront them when they are intoxicated.
What Is Addiction?
According to Cleveland Clinic, a substance addiction is a medical condition that happens chronically and has no cure. Although there’s no cure for substance use disorder, there are an abundance of treatments to help someone achieve lasting recovery. Resurgence Behavioral Health offers a diverse variety of treatment options for addiction and co-occurring mental health disorders, including medical detox, inpatient rehab, outpatient programs, and dual diagnosis treatment. SMART Recovery is another unique option that stands for self-management and recovery training. This type of addiction treatment program increases the patient’s self-empowerment by relying on evidence-based research and support groups across the United States for this type of drug and alcohol rehab.
How to Support Your Loved One During Rehab
Even after you figure out how to talk to your loved one about rehab, you’ll want to understand your role in supporting them during rehab. A top priority is to keep them engaged in their treatment and motivate them to be committed to their recovery. Part of supporting your loved one during rehab is helping them develop a treatment or recovery plan. If they are stuck with specific details like personal goals, you can help them brainstorm and come up with their top priorities for getting better.
You can also attend support group meetings with your loved one or go to one alone to connect with other people who also have experienced what it’s like to support and take care of a loved one going through addiction and then rehab for treatment. Seeking support from others who are going through a similar experience can help you find family support services. This is a group format that’s open to discussion and conversation about any hardships or advice they’ve encountered while someone they love is in rehab for addiction.
What is Codependency and Enabling?
Codependency is when someone is doing things for the other person even though it’s a task the person is capable of doing on their own, according to Mental Health America. They have difficulty telling them no because they want someone else’s approval. Enabling can go hand in hand with codependency. Enabling is when someone starts to take responsibility or make excuses for someone else’s inappropriate behaviors. Codependency has a role in this as someone who is codependent starts taking responsibility for the other person’s mistakes. This isn’t a helpful technique because someone going to addiction treatment might never need to learn from what they’re doing wrong if their loved ones are taking the blame instead.
When trying to support a friend or family member in getting help for addiction, it’s important to avoid being codependent and enabling their addictive behavior. It’s also crucial to learn how to talk to your loved one about rehab and the many reasons why addiction treatment is necessary. Enabling someone who has a substance use disorder can cause more harm than help in their effort to overcome the addiction. It also can increase the strain on your relationship because you’re allowing and accepting them to continue to be addicted without seeking treatment — and that’s a lot of pressure to put on your shoulders alone.
Signs of Relapsing and How to Avoid It
It’s important to recognize signs of relapsing and know what to watch out for after addiction treatment is completed. In particular, look out for these symptoms:
- Isolation: If your loved one is becoming less social and not going to recovery meetings like Alcoholics Anonymous, they might be using again.
- Decrease in Self-Care: Part of being in an addiction treatment program at Resurgence Behavioral Health is learning to focus once again on self-care, such as getting enough sleep, eating well, and making exercise part of your routine. If your loved one is showing signs that these things are slipping, it could point to a relapse.
- Mood Changes: When someone starts feeling irritable, stressed, or depressed, these mood changes could lead to relapse because they might turn to a substance as a crutch.
- Cravings: The brain’s reward center might be different in someone who once struggled with addiction. Strong cravings might tempt them into consuming drugs or alcohol again to try to experience these feel-good sensations.
To avoid these signs of relapsing, you can encourage your loved one to socialize with others who are also in recovery. The risk of relapse can also be minimized if you continue to support and show love for them by encouraging them to continue pushing through in recovery. If they do slip up, it’s important to support them and be nonjudgmental when you start once again talking to your loved one about rehab.
Talk to Your Loved One About Rehab at Resurgence Behavioral Health
Once you figure out how to talk to your loved one about rehab, you can next help them get started with treatment immediately. Resurgence Behavioral Health is here to help you both with this process, ensuring your loved one can get the professional addiction treatment they need. Our specialists can help you navigate the next steps in addiction treatment and learn how to support your loved one during and after rehab. We’re here to help. Call us today at 855-458-0050 to get started on the road to recovery.
External Sources
Mental Health America — Co-Dependency
Mayo Clinic — Intervention
Cleveland Clinic — Addiction
