Loving someone who is suffering from a drug addiction can be one of the hardest things you will
ever go through. Someone you love is suffering, and as much as you want to help, it likely feels
like nothing you do is working.
Even if they have never directly blamed you for their addiction, it can be hard to avoid the
feelings of responsibility. You can find yourself feeling like you must have done something wrong
along the way, or maybe you aren’t loving them enough, aren’t trying to help them enough –
whatever it is, it is hard to not succumb to the feelings of guilt.
However, the cold, hard truth is that their addiction is theirs. They are making their own
decisions, and they are the one responsible for their actions. Regardless of what has happened
to them in the past, it is their own responsibility to change their future.
If you are finding yourself in the middle of the blame game or just self-inflicted feelings of guilt,
it is time to focus on your own healing.
4 Tips for Coping with Your Loved One’s Addiction
One of the best things you can do to help your loved one with addiction is to keep your own
mental health in check. They need loving supporters around them.
Here are some tips for coping with loving someone with addiction while keeping your own
mental health in a good place:
1.Focus on Self-Care.
It is easy to neglect yourself when you have a loved one suffering from addiction. However, you
are more equip to help them when you are also taken care of.
Take some time to get out of the house, to do things that make you happy, to do things you’ve
been needing to get off that to-do list for a while.
2.Educate Yourself About Addiction.
Sometimes your anxiety and guilt can stem from not fully understanding the disease. By
educating yourself, you will be surprised at how enlightened you are about the fact that it is not
your fault.
This is also a great way to cope in an actionable way. What better way to feel better about
something than to do what you can about it?
3.Talk to Someone.
You don’t have to do this alone. Just like an addict needs help overcoming their addiction, their
families need help overcoming it, too.
Seek the advice of a professional. They can be your sounding board when you just need to talk,
or they can be a word of wisdom when you aren’t sure what to do.
4.Monitor Your Expectations.
Yes, we all hope for the best in negative situations. However, it is important to keep your
expectations realistic. Keep yourself in check.
We’re Here for You
One of the most important things during addiction is getting help. You can’t do this alone, and
neither can they. Get in touch with our team today to learn more about addiction recovery
options and support services we have to offer.
