You are elated!  Your loved one is in treatment and beginning to recover, but the journey is far from over.  Recovery is a lifelong journey, and you will need the best tools for supporting their efforts.  Here are some tools that will ensure your family has everything needed to enjoy a thriving recovery journey alongside your loved one.

 

  • Education about the recovery process.  If you have a loved one in recovery and are reading this article then you are off to a great start.  Learning about what you and your loved one will experience during treatment, and beyond, will keep you ahead of the curve.  Education will also increase your ability to help your loved one avoid a relapse.
  • Treat recovery as a lifelong journey.  As you witness a loved one recover it is tempting to believe, at a certain point, they are cured.  This is not true.  For example, you may start to believe your loved one can enjoy an occasional alcoholic beverage long after treatment, but addiction is a sleeping giant and can awake vengefully at any time.
  • Communicate openly.  New research suggests that keeping adoption as a regular topic in conversations with an adopted child has potent, positive effects on adopted children.   Adopted children in open environments show dramatically increased self-esteem, confidence, and a solid identity.  Communicating openly with your loved one about recovery regularly can have the same effect.  Their recovery will not be an awkward topic, but instead will become something they are proud of and willing to be transparent about.
  • Build a support system.  Everybody involved in the recovery journey needs a support system.  Some believe that only the person receiving treatment needs support, but if you attempt the journey alone you will quickly tire.  Your loved one will have good and bad days.  You need a team of people to celebrate the highs with, and shoulders to cry on when the lows come.  Build a support team that wants the best for both you and your loved one.
  • Celebrate!  With your loved one in recovery this is a perfect time to celebrate.  Do exciting things together.  Go on adventurous trips.  Celebrate recovery milestones and anniversaries.  One mindset that many addicts struggle with is believing that life is duller without using their substance of choice.  Reinforce in your loved one’s mind that there is much joy to be found in life apart from their addiction.  Prove to them that recovery is better.

    The Springboard Center knows that recovery is important to you. That is why we are providing the best care for alcoholism and drug addiction possible to the Permian Basin and beyond. Our goal is to provide quality residential treatment that restores the health and dignity of our clients and their families. Together, we gain raise community awareness and heal lives. Call us today for information: (432) 620-0255