Author: contributor

Teenagers are likely to abuse substances or behaviors and get addicted in the process because they are in their formative years. However, one of the largest influences that can prevent them from getting addicted is their parents.

Parents need to develop a strong bond with their teenagers so that they can help them keep addiction at bay.

Here are some ways that parents can apply to prevent addiction in their teenagers

Learn about addiction

If you don’t know what addiction entails, it might be difficult to help your teenagers. You need to learn about the fundamentals of addiction because this knowledge helps you to relate with them the right way.

Parents who have a strong relationship with their teenagers, and are knowledgeable about addiction are likely to prevent their teenagers from getting addicted to drugs, alcohol, etc.

Have honest conversations with them

Teenagers can be tough to discuss with, especially when it comes to having open and honest conversations. Most of them want to imitate their peers and social media.

Hence, you need to always discuss with them from time to time so that you can know what they are up to. It is also important to know what your teenagers think about addiction so that you can guide them.

Build trust with your teenagers

You need to let your teenager know that they can always count on you. This will make you approachable, and they can easily open up to you when they can vouch for your reliability and accessibility.

When a teenager is in a challenging situation, they are likely to approach whoever they have built trust with.

Know your teenagers’ friends

When you know the peers your teenagers hang out with, it becomes easier to predict if they can get addicted or not. You can set some boundaries in place to limit your teenager’s exposure to addictive substances.

While you strive to prevent addiction in your teenagers, you should ensure that you are not exposed to any of these substances or behaviors. This is because teenagers are likely to adopt any behavior they see you practice.

Many people think that when an individual is addicted, it affects only them. However, addiction does not only affect the person under the influence of substance abuse, it hurts those around them, especially their loved ones.

Family and friends can help their addicted loved ones to get better when they are actively involved in their addiction treatment process.

Here are some tips that family and friends can apply to help their addicted loved ones.

Learn about addiction

When family and friends learn about addiction, it can be easier to skip the blame game.

One of the reasons why some people struggle with their addiction for a long time is because their loved ones are ignorant about what they are facing.

Therefore, a lot of blame is likely to go around. Family and friends can look up several resources that talk about addiction so that they can learn how to help their addicted loved ones.

Attend family therapy sessions

Family and friends are always closely hit anytime an individual becomes addicted. They can become distant because of the numerous conflicts bound to happen.

Hence, even though family members don’t have the right resources to help their addicted loved ones, they can attend family therapy sessions.

These programs are structured to give everyone a chance to explain themselves so that they can get on the same footing.

Do things together as a family

It is important not to leave the addicted loved one out of any family gathering. You can start by eating together, praying together, etc. This will help everyone reconnect with everyone and build a sense of togetherness.

Don’t expect too much

Even though an addicted individual is showing signs of recovery, it is important to manage your expectations.

Don’t expect that they will change overnight. Be patient with them so that they can take their time to get better.

It might take a long while for them to drop the patterns and behaviors that come with addiction, so you need to gear up to avoid getting disappointed.

Every individual who is in addiction recovery, usually hopes to get better within the shortest possible time.

This is possible if the addiction problem is not too chronic, and if he or she has the right set of persons around them. Once these features are in place, addiction recovery can happen faster than expected.

There are some categories of people who are quintessential to the addiction recovery of an individual.

The first category is the family. The addicted individual would definitely have a family, even if it is a family of one.

There are two things that are bound to happen when the family of an addict finds out about the problem of their loved one.

It is either they lend a helping hand or they turn their backs against him or her. If it is the former, then you can be sure that the individual would be more motivated to go into addiction treatment for recovery to set in.

However, if it is the latter, the addicted individual might not have the courage to opt for addiction treatment, and this could be detrimental to the overall state of his or her health.

This is one of the main reasons why families are always encouraged to stand by their loved ones, when they notice they are down with addiction.

The second category of persons are friends. This category is a wide one, and it is appropriate to include co-workers and neighbors as well.

Not all friends would be very close to us, but we have those in our inner circle.

Now, it is these friends who are in our inner circle that could be beneficial to us if we are addicted.

The reason for this is, we trust the like families, and we feel our deepest secrets are safe with them. So, it is expected that they stand by us during our darkest hours.

The last category is for counselors. These are professionals who are adept at handling all sorts of cases, particularly addiction problem.

They will expertly handle any addiction problem you have, and they make their evaluations from an unbiased angle.

Counselors know how to identify with your pain and addiction, they have a high emotional quotient and this is why a good number of patients feel safe with them.

In one way or the other, the family has an integral role to play in the addiction of an individual.

It could either be that the individual got addicted because some members of the family were, or it could be because the family was not observant enough.

There are some parents who were careless enough to let their children get addicted under their own nose.

Taking a look at behavioral addiction for instance, a good number of parents would not want to believe that their child has a behavioral problem.

So, even if they notice that their child is addicted to video gaming for instance, they would not take it serious.

They might only want to put some measures in place when they notice that there has been a drop in their child’s productivity. However, they would not want to associate addiction with their child’s behavioral problem.

Before you know it, their child grows into an adult and becomes hooked on video games. Even at work, it would be hard for him or her to keep a cool head, and productivity would be on a decline.

Due to the fact that the child grew up in an atmosphere where he or she was not properly monitored, there is a chance that he or she might be struggling with another form of addiction. It could be a substance addiction though.

Families need to be observant, they need to know what is happening to each member of the family.

It would be easy for family members to detect signs of addiction in their loved one if they are very observant. If any sign of addiction is detected at the early phase, it is advantageous.

However, if the family is not observant, they would be unaware of the period when their loved one would slip into the well of addiction.

To wrap it up, families are advised to always be on the lookout for any signs of addiction. If they notice any, it is advisable to report to the appropriate quarters like a rehab facility.

Family counseling is one of the integral aspects of addiction recovery, and the participation of everyone would foster the recovery of their addicted loved ones.

The family has a pivotal role to play in checkmating addiction and this comes in handy when they notice any strange and obsessive act exhibited among any member of the family.

One of the best ways to ensure the proper prevention of addiction in the family is making sure that everyone in the family is sober.

Once this has been certified, it would be easy to narrow the search for the root cause of an individual’s addiction.

The inclusion of family counseling in the addiction recovery is one of the most proficient ways of fast-tracking recovery. The individual would be encouraged when he or she sees their family member around.

Even though the individual has not been admitted into the full recovery program, there is a need to have family members around.

A profound benefit that family counseling comes with is the support and understanding that the individual has to reap. The family would be thought on how to cope with their loved ones addiction and how they can help out.

During family counseling, a good structure is put in place to make sure that everyone is able to bear with their loved ones addiction, while the recovery goes on.

They would also be responsible for watching out for triggers that can frustrate the addiction of their loved one.

A proficient counselor is needed during family counseling because he or she would need to keep tabs on the family, for the purpose of monitoring the progress so far.

The family is a body of love and every member of the family needs to experience this care and affection.

Addiction has a way of putting a wide gap between an addict and his or her family. However, with family counseling, it would be easier to get everyone back to the status quo.  

One of the first factors that you would consider when you are tracing the root cause of an individual’s addiction, is the family.

The reason for this is, the family is the first point of contact in the life of an individual. So, it is likely that he or she must have been influenced by any member of the family thereby resulting in his or her addiction.

If eventually the root cause of an individual’s addiction is confirmed to be the family, the family factor is still important in the addiction treatment of the individual. If it is not the case, the family is still an important factor in addiction recovery.

Someone who is in addiction recovery with the support of the family, will recuperate faster than someone who is all by themselves.

The family is a strong support system that everyone needs at various challenging points of their lives. If the family is not present, it could stall the progress of any happenings.

A recovering addict needs the support of the family to pull through. Definitely, the family might not be comfortable with the addiction. However, they have no choice than to lend a helping hand to their loved one.

In addiction recovery, no one needs to be blamed for their problems. All hands need to be on deck to tackle the addiction problem.

A good number of families have been found to have made this mistake over time. When any of their loved ones is caught up in the web of addiction, they turn a blind eye and allow the individual to face the addiction problem themselves.

Eventually, if the individual recovers, there would be a communication gap between him or her and the family.

This is why addiction counselors would advise that families do not give their addicted loved ones a gap.

Rather, they should draw them closer in love and stick close all through the addiction treatment process. This form of support would be quintessential in fast-tracking the progress of the addicted individual.  

When addiction is in motion, it has the capacity to bring disunity in a family. Some of the family members might not want to associate with their addicted family.

This form of rejection can make the individual stigmatized.

Addiction is a chronic brain disease whereby the individual is subject to the desire of his or her brain; where he or she has to satisfy the pleasurable feelings that the brain requires.

If the family is aware of the quintessential role they have to play as one, some individuals who are addicted would recover faster than usual.

The support of the family in addiction treatment cannot be overstated, they are one of the integral factors in giving the individual a clean bill of health.

One of the major roles that the family has to play in addiction recovery is support. They need to be there in every step of the way.

Right from the commencement of the addiction treatment to the very end. This implies that they need to be kept updated on the progress of their loved one as the treatment phases come by.

Families are not expected to display prejudice when their loved one is addicted. This is a form of intolerance that must greatly be discouraged.

If it were possible, family members can take turns in attending support groups in order to reiterate and substantiate their commitment to the recovery of their loved one.

Also, it could be that the individual became addicted as a result of some of the family members.

At this point, it is advised that everyone in the family opts for family rehab. In this rehab, every one of them would be assessed and tested.

Asides this, the family would also be given measures on how to trace the root cause of their loved one’s addiction.

They would need to check if their loved one was facing mental health problems or not, because they are among the major contributing factors to addiction.

The family is the strongest pillar in an individual’s life, and having them around during addiction recovery is a great boost.