Addiction destroys families as much as it destroys the individual addict. Living with an addict is both heartbreaking and exhausting. Family members are torn between how to help the addict and how to avoid being sucked into the addict\’s world.
In 2013, about 6.6 percent of the American population was dependent on alcohol or had difficulties relating to alcohol use, while more than 24 million people had abused an illicit drug in the prior month, says the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Families play a large part in the recovery of an addict. Every single one of these people had to fight back against that addiction, and chances are, nearly all of these people had family members and friends rooting for their eventual recovery.
If you are the loved one of someone struggling with addiction, you many have many questions and concerns, such as:
How to deal with a drug addict
How to find support groups
How to understand what went wrong and the fears of what the outcome could be.
These and many more are realities that family members are faced with when dealing with drug addiction. It is important, however, that families understand how to navigate this unchattered territory of their lives. When considering how to deal with an addict and how to deal with addiction, it is imperative to consider the \”Nature\” of addiction. Addictions don\’t happen in silos. They happen in communities filled with loving people. Family members must be proactive in finding and assisting the addict get into treatment as well as open up to experts that could help them begin a journey of understanding how addiction changes the dynamics of the family unit.