When a family member becomes addicted to drugs, it can be a challenging time. On one hand, you will have to keep their drug addiction in check while on the other hand, you will have to have good control over yourself so that you don’t emotionally break down. Below, we list out six things you must do when living with a family member who is addicted to drugs.
- Know More About The Addiction
Try to know everything you can about the addiction your family member is going through. Drugs will affect the body and mind of its users in various ways. Some drugs will keep a person disinterested in eating properly while another might make the person completely paranoid. Knowing what effect the drug is having on your loved one will help you handle them in a better way. For example, if they are addicted to hallucinatory drugs, then there is a good chance that they will be highly paranoid and delusional. Such people will also be prone to panic attacks. As such, if they start to display any sudden fear of some invisible entity, you won’t be confused as to what is happening. Instead, you can comfort them and reassure them in a way that calms them down and helps them regain their mental balance. 
- Therapy Sessions You should arrange therapy sessions for the family member. Ideally, they must have an individual therapy session and a group therapy session. The individual therapy sessions will mostly be focused on helping the person identify psychological issues and behaviors that drive them towards drug consumption. In addition, efforts will also be made to motivate the person to strive for a goal so that they have a purpose in their life. Family therapy sessions will largely involve smoothing out the relationship between the person and the rest of their family members.
- Healthy Meals
A normal human being needs to eat a nutritious meal every day to maintain their health. And when it comes to people who are addicted to drugs, this becomes even more important. Your family member will probably be eating less food because of their addiction. As a result, their health will suffer. And combined with the regular drug usage, it becomes an endless cycle where they will end up becoming weaker with each passing day. This is why it is important that you feed them with home-cooked meals every day. Include all kinds of vegetables and meats in the meal, and ensure that the family member gets their daily requirement of nutrients.
- Don’t Be Complacent When It Comes To Morality
The family member will most likely do some things that can be morally conflicting for you. Maybe they will start stealing from you in order to buy drugs or they might start an illegal activity. You might be tempted to overlook such activities out of your love for the person. But it is recommended that you do not compromise one bit when it comes to morality. If you turn a blind eye to their one illegal or immoral activity, they might start to indulge in more criminal things. This is why it is necessary to draw a clear line when it comes to moral issues. If you find them stealing from you, then reprimand them instead of turning a blind eye towards it. But be sure to never go overboard with your behavior since it can force them to isolate themselves and shut you out from their life.
- Look For A Rehab Clinic
Heaven forbid you would ever need a drug rehab clinic. But unfortunately, there might come a time that your loved one will be so addicted to drugs that you will have no choice but to enroll them in a rehabilitation facility. If you are in the Birmingham area, you could do a search for Birmingham rehab centers. Make sure that you check the history of the facility and only let your loved one join a rehab center which holds a good reputation for curing people of drug addiction, like the Clearwater treatment center in Florida. Plus, ensure that the facility does allow for regular family visits so that you can meet your loved one every now and then. But if the addiction is very severe, the rehab center may suggest an isolated treatment. In such a situation, you won’t be seeing your family member for a very long time until and unless the doctors determine that family visits are okay.
- Sleeping Schedule
Finally, ensure that the family member gets an adequate amount of sleep. People who are addicted to drugs usually have erratic sleeping. And this can worsen their drug addiction even further. But if you make sure that they sleep at night and wake up early morning just like any other normal person, you can help them avoid developing sleeping problems.
I’m a 20-something stay-at-home mother and wife. I have an amazing husband, a beautiful daughter, two loving dogs, and a lazy cat. I wouldn’t change my life for anything! I love to read, listen to music, cook and blog!
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