Living With Addiction

Living with people requires many things, chiefly among them: patience, balance, communication, and understanding. Living with addiction and creating a safe and harmonious household requires even more from you. It’s challenging to figure out how to help an alcoholic. Still, the first goal is to understand addiction, what it is and how it works, and to identify and manage the potential effects on your household and important relationships. There may come a time while living with addiction when you and your loved one needs professional help. Reach out to us online today or call 833.685.1700 to discuss the many benefits of our residential treatment program.

Understanding Addiction

To fully understand how to help an alcoholic, it’s critically important to first learn about addiction itself. Addiction is a disease that causes dramatic changes to the brain and how it functions. People with a drug or alcohol addiction have dopamine receptors activated that tell their brain that drugs are rewards. This alters the brain chemistry, and the person becomes dependent on the substance(s) being used to get through the day, feel joy, or, at times, feel anything at all. Due to the significant alterations experienced, addiction is considered a chronic disease. It can override a person’s behavior and self-control despite being aware of the physical, emotional, and financial damage the addiction is causing.

As you search for how to help an alcoholic, know that addiction is a treatable disease and recovery is possible. Through compassionate, intensive long-term care at Alina Lodge, your loved one can get the medical help they need and deserve. During recovery, your loved one living with addiction will have support from an alumni program and be able to rely on the essential life skills, and coping mechanisms learned during their treatment.

How Addiction Affects More Than Just The User

Addiction affects all members of a household, and all in different ways. Just effects of living with addiction in your life can include:

• Anxiety and stress
• Depression
• Guilt, embarrassment, and anger
• Financial distress
• Physical danger
• Emotional pain

Tips For Living With Addiction

You didn’t cause your loved one’s addiction, and you also can’t cure it. You can, however, learn how to help an alcoholic get the help they need to be treated, healed, and overcome their addiction to enjoy long-term recovery. In doing so, you will also take steps to ensure your safety and protect your physical, emotional, and mental well-being.

If you’re living with addiction in your home, consider the following:

Stay Safe

Living with addiction can be dangerous. This is especially true if you have vulnerable family members like children, elderly relatives, and pets. Set household rules and boundaries and if at any point your safety becomes an issue, ask your loved one living with addiction to leave the home temporarily.

Make A Plan

When living with addiction in your home, there may come a time when you need to evacuate yourself and your loved ones. Make a plan for where you will go and with whom you will stay safe in the event you must leave immediately. Discuss this plan with friends and family, and do not hesitate to press this panic button if needed. The most important thing is to keep yourself, your kids, and your pets out of harm’s way.

Protect Your Money

Your loved one living with addiction may attempt to steal money to obtain more of the substances they crave. When it comes to how to help an alcoholic, restricting their access to funds could be one piece of the puzzle. To do so, remove them from personal bank accounts and credit cards. You may even want to consider opening up a new bank account with only your name on it.

Set Boundaries

Healthy boundaries won’t solve all of your problems when living with addiction. Still, when you establish rules and expectations and consequences, if your loved one breaks any of these boundaries, you are helping them begin to get better.

Encourage Treatment

Long-term care focused on family relationships, and alumni support after treatment can help your loved one living with addiction begin to overcome their battle with substances and begin down the path toward recovery. Talk to your loved one about considering a residential treatment program.

Practice Self-Care

Just as you are instructed to put on your own oxygen mask before helping others during an airline safety briefing, you must take care of yourself to be of most use to your family and loved ones during this difficult time. The stress of living with addiction can make it easy to neglect your own health needs. Practice self-care through:

• Exercise
• Prioritize sleep
• Practice gratitude
• Mindfulness
• Yoga
• Skin-care routine
• Play music, video games

Find A Support Group

Support groups aren’t only for those with a substance use disorder. There are groups offering support to those living with addiction in a loved one. Support groups are available online and in-person and can help you further address your needs, questions, and concerns about living with someone you love as they battle addiction.

Learn More at Alina Lodge

Contact our compassionate team today using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 833.685.1700 to learn more about how to help an alcoholic while keeping yourself and your family safe and secure.