First off, know and research the drug your child is addicted to. Your experience in dealing with the drug addiction problems is probably not enough to claim that you ‘know’ all about it. Find out what it is, what it does and what your loved one will have to do to overcome it.
Ask for help to help you help them
Know that you are not alone in this endeavor and there is no reason for you to feel as if you were. Your child is not the only one that will be going through ups and downs in their recovery; your entire family will be going with them as well.
Just as your child needs encouragement and support in overcoming their drug addiction problem, you also need help and people to talk to that can give you tips and answers about drug addicts. Talking to a substance abuse counselor or drug therapist will give you the support, information and encouragement that you need. This is not the time to be quiet and keep everything inside.
It isn’t up to you
Possibly the hardest thing to accept is no matter how much you talk about it, how much you love them or how much you want to be helping them fix their problems , they are the ones who will make themselves better. It is impossible for you to force a drug addict to get clean if they do not want to.
Even thought this might be the single best thing that helps drug addicts, it is especially hard for a mother or a parent to cope with. You feel that, as the parent, it is your job to guide or ‘fix’ them. You must step back from this thought and realize that in order for them to get help, THEY must be the ones to choose to overcome their drug addict problem. In this instance, your job is not to grab the success for them; you just have to only show them where it is so they can reach it themselves.
Forget the word ‘failure’
Don’t forget that your child simply ‘checking in’ or accepting rehabilitation is only the first victory in a long line. You must prepare yourself that dealing with an addiction is a day-to-day thing and that sometimes the urge will be too great for them to resist.
DO NOT consider this to be a failure. Most addicts and users are going to relapse in their early recovery and that is why most rehabilitation centers will have some sort of group fellowship or interaction for support. They will make mistakes and there will be hard times, but the very fact that they are going back and trying to stay clean is a victory in itself.
Author: National Addiction Resources
America's Best Treatment Directory
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