Author Lisa Hillman journaled her experience as her son battled addiction. It not only helped her process what she went through as a mother of an addict, but also gave insight for other families dealing with addiction.
It’s tough trying to find help for your addicted love one while keeping it secret. No one is exempt from the blame, shame and guilt regarding the addiction.
Your priority is to get help for your loved one. That takes a toll on you. You may need some comfort from a group therapy session. Check out groups like Al-Anon to find the right fit for you. Working through your own feelings will make you stronger for your addicted love one.
Lisa's three tips for dealing with a family addiction:
- Educate yourself about addiction. Attend a family program or workshop. Visit an addiction center. Get informed.
- Don’t keep it to yourself. Share what’s going on with someone you can trust. Share it with someone at the workplace, since you spend so much time at work.
- Keep the focus on taking care of yourself. Do what you need to stay healthy. It’s easy to forget to eat and to miss out on sleep when you’re caught up in an addiction situation. It's unfair to the rest of the family. Work on what you can do and what you can change.
Lisa Hillman has been a development professional for more than 35 years.