Living with an Addict

I specialize in working with family members of addicts. Addiction is considered a “family disease.” For family and friends of the addict, addressing addiction is one of the most difficult aspects in helping that person seek treatment. Often, daily family involvement over time has only managed to enable the addict. Family members frequently don’t know how to bring up the issue of addiction therapy. Instead, you ignore the problem for fear of pushing your loved one away. You often feel trapped. Recovery is supported by positive and frequent involvement in online counseling. Family members might become distant, angry and resentful. You may believe that you cannot address the issue without angering or upsetting the addict or making their addiction worse. When the family members are able to take a break and assess the behaviours, you are often able to identify the behaviours and traits that can help break the cycle of enabling.
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When you earnestly participate in counseling, each family member is empowered to:

• Have honest talks with the addict.
• Rebuild trust and provide new skills and understanding of how to best work with the addicted family member.
• Address the family dynamic and unhealthy imbalance in communication.
• Offer the chance to talk while the addicted family member is not in a toxic environment or under the influence of drugs or alcohol, which are often major barriers to healthy communication.
• Gain a new perspective, and hopefully a sense of acceptance, about the loved ones addiction.