How to Talk About Addiction with a Loved One

How to Talk About Addiction with a Loved One

couple showing how to talk about addiction with a loved one

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If substance abuse is destroying your family, getting a loved one into a good treatment program is the first step toward healing. Confronting someone about their addiction involves an overdue, emotion-wrought conversation that addresses the impact of drugs and alcohol on their life, health, and family. When confronting a loved one about their addiction, it is important to take responsibility for any role you may have played in allowing their addiction to continue, and to outline the specific changes that you will make in order to stop enabling their drug use in the future.

Our 24-hour medical detox center in Portland, ME offers a safe, structured approach to detoxing from opioids, heroin, alcohol, and other addictive drugs. After detox, patients can transition to our residential substance use disorder program. Call Liberty Bay Recovery by calling (855) 607-8758 to get started today. We have helped countless Maine families navigate the recovery process and we look forward to meeting you.

Be Prepared

Talking about addiction isn’t easy. There are so many opportunities for this kind of discussion to go awry; being unprepared may cause you to lose your temper, get sidetracked, or give up. If feeling guilty, screaming, begging, nagging, rewarding, punishing, and ignoring were going to help your loved one, you wouldn’t be having this conversation. Although it is ultimately the addicted person’s burden to stop using, family members and loved ones can help or hinder a person on their journey to recovery at an alcohol detox center in Maine

Remain Level-Headed 

Before confronting a loved one about their addiction, make sure their treatment is covered by insurance. Remember to breathe, stay grounded, and focus on the end result: getting the person into addiction treatment. It’s easy to confront someone about their drug or alcohol use when you’re angry or fed up, but this doesn’t mean the conversation will be useful. Depending on the severity level of the addiction, your loved one may not be able to stop using drugs and alcohol without the help of an inpatient drug and alcohol rehab center in Portland, ME. Keep in mind that the goal of an intervention is to get the person to enter addiction treatment; everything else is a distraction. Your ability to stay calm, loving, and resolute can make the difference for a person addicted to opioids, alcohol, or other dangerous substances.

Getting Help

Giving your loved one the chance to get sober is the greatest gift you can offer. Although they will not appreciate it in the beginning, they will eventually thank you for giving them the chance to get their life back. As they may have questions, it’s important to understand the treatment process and explain it to your loved one. Entering a Maine drug rehab center is overwhelming and terrifying. They will want to know that they will be going to a safe place with the right people. 

Understand The Relapse Risk

Addiction treatment doesn’t end when your loved one leaves a Portland, ME, residential treatment center. The final stage of treatment is called aftercare. Aftercare involves therapy and community engagement. It can also involve participation in the appropriate 12-step programs, such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. We also recommend that family members attend Nar Anon meetings to receive support from other Portland, ME, residents who have dealt with addiction in their family.

Addiction Support

Talking about addiction may be the most difficult conversations a family can have. Offering support to a person suffering from substance use disorder may save their life. Let Liberty Bay Recovery provide that support at our addiction treatment in Maine. Our addiction recovery center provides a full range of addiction treatment recovery services, from detox to counseling to aftercare. We offer inpatient, outpatient, and partial and full hospitalization programs, including:

It might be tempting to fall into a cycle of guilt and regret. This is a waste of energy. Recognize the mistakes you’ve made and learn from them. Call Liberty Bay Recovery today at (855) 607-8758 to begin the healing process.