It's very common for families to have a member that misuses drugs. When a member of a family starts to abuse drugs, their loved ones can feel confused and disoriented. Many people feel lost because they don't know how to deal with the problem. The situation is worse when a family member is deep into addiction.

If you have a family member that is abusing drugs, you can help them without enabling their behavior. Here's what you should do if you have a family member that is abusing drugs.

Learn About Addiction

You can only see something if you know it. Therefore, clues and signs that a family member is abusing drugs might not be clear unless you know something about drug abuse. This knowledge will also help you decide to find drug addiction hotline free at addictionresource.com for further information and guidelines. This hotline number is manned by professionals that know and understand addiction. They provide all the assistance addicts and their loved ones need to deal with addiction.

Without knowledge of addiction and how it manifests itself, you may not see even clear things when presented in broad daylight. What's more, you will overlook some signs of addiction if you aren't informed. Therefore, start by learning about addiction.

Don't Let Your Loved One Abuse You

It's very common for drug users to abuse their sober family members in different ways. For instance, emotional abuse is the most common. That's because drug abusers have labile moods and irritability. A drug user can opt to steal money from their loved ones to buy drugs. Some addicts even steal heirlooms from their families and sell them to raise money for buying drugs. Sexual and physical abuse can also occur.

Drug abuse is not an excuse to avoid taking reasonable steps towards protecting yourself. If necessary, involve the authorities to ensure your protection. You can even call an addiction helpline for guidance if unsure of the best ways to deal with an abusive addict at home.

Avoid Enabling the Addictive Behavior through Cover-Up or Collusion

Let the drug abuser suffer the consequences of their drug abuse. Do not collude with or cover up for their actions. Research has shown that enabling behavior can hinder recovery efforts or treatment acceptance. For instance, don't pay off the bills of the addict or make excuses for their creditors.

Perhaps, you already have boundaries or limit about family budget, curfews, and expectations to assist in the house among others. In that case, don't give the drug abuser the right to flout them. Instead, they insist they maintain a reasonable, good behavior across the realms. If the individual fails to conform, take the agreed measures.

It's important to know when to be soft on a person and when to cut them out completely. For instance, if you keep calling rehab numbers for assistance and the loved one doesn't want to change, you may need to be stricter on them. Essentially, taking a drastic step is sometimes necessary if the circumstances become sufficiently dire.

Get Professional Help if Your Life is threatened in any Essential Aspect

If drug abuse by the other family member makes you feel beaten down to a point where some crucial aspects of your life are in jeopardy, get professional help. Such aspects can be housing, the ability to get food, and employment. It's important to ensure that the drug abuse habit of the family member doesn't ruin your life.

Even when you think that you are coping well, it may be helpful to seek support or professional consultation when deciding on the way to proceed. Don't wait for the need to call rehab to arise to seek professional assistance. Instead, take a step the moment you feel like you can't deal with the addictive behavior of the family member alone.

Don't Neglect Your Well-being and Health

This can seem selfish but it's very important. Research has shown that substance abuse can have intergenerational effects that can affect trust, role modeling, and normative behavior concept negatively. This can damage relationships that the generations of a family have. It's, therefore, crucial to remember that you have other people looking up to you, other than the addict.

What's more, taking care of a person that's abusing drugs can take a toll on you. In some cases, it can be hard to make informed decisions when you must be available for others all the time. Therefore, it's crucial to ensure that you have time to take care of your health needs. Getting adequate sleep, eating right, keeping up with the appointments you have with your doctor, and exercising are all important when dealing with a family member that is abusing drugs. Attending to your health needs makes you best-suited to take care of or deal with a loved one who abuses drugs.

Help them Seek Treatment

This depends on the willingness of a person to end their addiction to drugs or alcohol. If a loved one shows the desire to quit using psychoactive substances or alcohol and ask you to help them seek treatment, don't refuse. Currently, there are many rehab facilities for drug addicts, alcoholics, and their loved ones to consider when seeking treatment. Different facilities offer varying programs to patients. Without adequate information, deciding on the best treatment facility can be a challenge. Therefore, take some time to learn about different addiction treatment facilities and the programs they offer.

You can even call a drug question hotline number to enquire more about the available treatment options. Working with the addict to choose a rehab facility increases the chances of a successful recovery because you can pick a center that caters to the unique needs of your loved one.

The Bottom Line

Families play a significant role when it comes to alcoholism, drug addiction, treatment, and recovery. Knowing what to do when a family member is abusing drugs is very important because the actions of loved ones can influence treatment and recovery. Sober family members should help the drug abuser without allowing themselves to be abused. They should learn about addiction, avoid enabling addictive behaviors and take care of themselves to ensure their wellbeing too. What's more, they should help the drug abuser seek assistance once he decides to do so.