Working As A Family For Recovery

Addiction is a topic that many people would rather avoid than talk about. It’s serious, sometimes life-threatening, and can deeply disrupt the core of a family and its functionality. As a family, it’s important to recognize the behaviors of addiction and provide support to the person going through it. Understanding what recovery means and how the addiction affects the mind can greatly help the recovery process. 

Addiction and Recovery

Addiction and recovery both go hand in hand. Not to say that the process is easy or smooth, because, in all reality, it’s not. It’s so important to have a support system to lean back on when going through recovery, because the rate of relapse is high, especially during the first few months. 

One of the most important things to remember is that recovery is a process that everyone goes through differently. It’s not just the student working through their problems, but the whole family needs to be putting in the work as well. Recovery is difficult, strenuous, and stressful! Having someone in your daughter’s corner to back them up is vital to prevent relapse as much as possible. 

At Eva Carlston, we recognize the needs of our students and work hard every day to maintain the essential rapport that is necessary for stabilization. Their whole world may be turned upside down by the time they are admitted to our program, and we work with the family to ensure they understand their daughter’s struggles, which means homework may be included during family therapy sessions. Providing a safe and well-educated environment for your daughter to go back home to can mean all the difference in strengthening your bonds as a family. 

Addiction Recovery For Families

Oftentimes, parents feel the need to keep their other children “protected” during the time that their daughter is in treatment. It’s important to include the siblings in the household as part of the treatment so they too understand how to help and what their role is. At Eva Carlston, we strongly encourage family therapy sessions to include the others in the household. 

When it comes to recovery, there needs to be a solid network and support system to build on. If it’s solely on your daughter’s shoulders to carry their burden alone, they will begin to feel isolated and may start to resent the family for not doing their work. When the family works for the member struggling, the chances of relapse are reduced, and the chances of success increase. 

Be prepared for relapse to happen. Unfortunately, with addiction and recovery, there is always a chance of relapse, as it is part of the process. Parents should be mindful of their relapse as well. Don’t go back into old, familiar patterns that you have worked so hard to break out of. The process of recovery is for every member of the family. There is no such thing as perfect in this world. Don’t raise unrealistic expectations that everything will be perfect once she is out of treatment, relapse is highly likely to happen. 

At Eva Carlston Academy, we understand not only addiction but also the disrupted family dynamic that can come with it. Be there for each other, feel the emotions of addiction, recovery, and relapse together, understand the not so perfect way of life together, and work hard to maintain the family peace that many seek during troubled times.