You’ve probably heard the saying “Addiction is a family disease.” Like any illness, addiction causes confusion and a host of varied reactions from those who care about you. Your family may resent you for the hurt your addiction caused them or for the fear they felt when they worried they might lose you. Some loved ones may feel responsible for your addiction, or they may feel guilty or powerless because they couldn’t help you. Your friends and family can heal during your recovery. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are Twelve Step groups that support families and friends of people recovering from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Parents, children, spouses, partners, siblings, other family members, friends, employers, employees, and coworkers of addicts can attend meetings. All these people have something in common: their lives have been affected by someone else’s drinking or drug use. One way you can encourage your family’s recovery is to encourage them to attend these meetings and support them along the way. Ultimately, it is their choice to participate or not, just as it is your choice to participate in Twelve Step programs created for people in recovery. If they are not ready, that’s OK. Maybe someday they will be, and you can support them then.
Action for the Day: Think about a family member who has been supportive to you in your journey of recovery. Think of something nice you can do to show a small portion of your appreciation. It could be a phone call or a small note to tell them how important they are to you. If they are unavailable or not on good terms with you anymore, pray or meditate about what they’ve meant to you.
Thought for the Day: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.” Thought for the Day “Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.”
Quoted from the app COR-12. Four Rivers Behavioral Health Center for Specialized Addiction Services