Watching a loved one suffer from an addiction is never easy. It's a challenge that most people don’t know how to overcome. You want to help but you don’t know exactly how. If you’ve never experienced addiction personally or don’t have professional training you may feel lost and
helpless. In addition, you may begin to become angry, frustrated, and hold resentment towards
your loved one. They’re not thinking clearly and it becomes difficult and pretty much impossible
for you to understand exactly what they’re thinking, feeling, or going through.
When a loved one is battling addiction the last thing you want to do is show anger and
disappointment towards them. It's hard to understand why someone would continue to do
something that’s causing them harm and wrecking havoc in every area of their life. The very
best thing you can do is give them a lot of love and hold compassion for them. Keep in mind,
they are not their addiction and their addiction is not them. Addiction is like a nasty parasite that
takes over and causes its host to be controlled by it. They need the same love, compassion, and attention that a sick child would need. Most addictions are rooted in unresolved childhood trauma.
You are not asked or required to take on the task of your loved one all by yourself. With substance abuse disorders, its very important to reach out for support from addiction specialists for both you and your loved one. Reaching out for support will also help you set up boundaries so that your loved one doesn’t become solely dependent on you and you don’t become drained of your vitality. When a loved one is battling addiction you may even have to take some time to separate from them in a healthy way while they are working through their recovery program with an addiction specialist in order to protect your own personal space and your relationship with the person. When we hold unconditional love and compassion for others that doesn’t mean that they have unlimited access to our space and energy.
At our substance abuse clinic in Baltimore, MD, The Epec Clinic, we have addiction specialists
to guide you through a medication assisted treatment program working with suboxone. We like
to eventually see our patients taper off and work with Medicinal Cannabis. We then help guide
you to evaluate the root of the addiction, what provoked it? What void were you trying to fill?
Accepting most insurance providers including Medicaid and Medicare, we also offer Telehealth
services. Don’t hesitate, reach out today to get the proper support that you and your loved one
needs!