Recognizing the impact of substance use disorder (SUD) on your everyday life and the individuals close to you, you may feel overwhelmed with the responsibilities that come along with this realization. Along with tending to your recovery needs, you also have to figure out how to communicate this obstacle to your family members. Despite how understanding and supporting your family may be, this discussion is difficult.
Explaining Your Addiction
Telling your family about your addiction and explaining your experience can be done in a variety of ways. Some of you may wish to disclose all of the details and some may wish to explain the bare minimum. The amount you wish to disclose is up to your discretion. There are many benefits involved in discussing your addiction with your family and allowing them to be involved with your treatment journey. Using the following tips, you can conquer the explanation of addiction to your family members efficiently.
Communicate About Your Addiction
The skills you learn related to communication are some of the most important skills in recovery. Communication skills not only help you engage with others through recovery, but they also can be applied in future careers, relationships, and nearly any setting imaginable. Using your communication skills, you can engage your family to explain your addiction and your recovery plans moving forward. Having efficient communication skills before engaging in this conversation is a great way to ensure the conversation goes smoothly.
It is important to be patient, polite, and concise when explaining the effects of addition. By attempting to clear any misconceptions, you can potentially eliminate further frustration and arguments that tear apart the family relationship. If you do not have a strong relationship with your family, rebuilding communication can help rebuild those relationships.
Prepare Before the Conversation
You likely know your family very well. You may have an anticipation of how they will react to this information and what their potential concerns may be. Think about your family and imagine how they might react. Many of us tend to assume that people will react worse to this conversation than they do in reality. Mentally preparing for your anticipated reaction can help you prepare your responses to their interaction.
The most feared response for many individuals is the feeling of letting down their family or seeing their family respond with high levels of anger. These reactions can be emotionally challenging to overcome. It is common for family members to express high levels of frustration when hearing this news. However, that does not necessarily mean that they will not support you through your recovery journey.
Outline Common Addiction Misconceptions
If your family has not previously dealt with the addiction of a loved one, they may believe the common stigmas and misconceptions of addiction. Outlining and debunking misconceptions about addiction can help alleviate the negative opinions of your family before these thoughts are reinforced. Addressing these concerns and spreading awareness on the cycle of addiction to your family not only will help them further their understanding but help alleviate stress for them. Knowing that you have done your research and are prepared to engage in treatment can mean a lot to family members.
Set Guidelines
Let your family know what your recovery process is set out to look like so far. Establish healthy boundaries around their involvement with the recovery process without overstepping. Tell them what you need on their end to help you be successful. Oftentimes, family members revert to negative emotions because they are unsure of how they can help you in this situation. Giving them specific ways that they can contribute to your success can help them feel involved and focused on the long-term outcome, rather than the stress of the initial news.
It is important for you to feel comfortable expressing your feelings, just as it is for other members of the family. Discussing this expectation upfront can create an open space for everyone’s comfort in emotional expression.
Utilize Our Family Program for Addiction Recovery
At Dream Recovery, we believe that family is an important aspect of the recovery journey. Having the support of your family can help you retain motivation, feel supported, and strengthen your relationships. Family therapy is a great resource to utilize to overcome the negative emotions regarding your addiction. This therapy can provide a safe space for all members of the family to express their concerns and work together to establish a healthy routine moving forward.
Using our family program and enjoying family day can help your family members further understand how to support you. It also allows you to feel comfortable discussing the process of your recovery in a controlled setting. Initially letting your family know about your addiction is often the hardest obstacle in family communication. Further obstacles that arise can be worked through with our team to alleviate further stress in your recovery journey.
Informing your family of your state of addiction and explaining the cycle of addiction and the process of recovery to them can be overwhelming. It is often intimidating to have these conversations and can often cause feelings of despair or shame. Preparing for these conversations and understanding how to effectively communicate can help this conversation run smoothly. There are many resources available to help you mend the potential tears in your family relationships. Use these resources to discuss the process of addiction with your family and inform them of how they can best support you moving forward. To learn more techniques to inform your family of your state of addiction, reach out to Dream Recovery at (657) 216-7218.
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