Those with opioid use disorder greatly rely on their support network while in treatment and recovery. When a family member is in crisis, it can be difficult to overlook some of the behaviors and perceived betrayals caused by addiction to continue to encourage them to seek help. However, continued support towards treatment is one of the best ways to drive home to the person in need that their family truly loves them.
Sticking to a bottom line and insisting the family member with opioid use disorder attend treatment as the only form of assistance granted by loved ones can help prevent family members from falling into “enabling” roles. Enabling behaviors may appear helpful but ultimately detrimental to those who need to seek professional help for their addiction. Offering unconditional love under the terms of seeking addiction treatment can be tough, especially for parents and spouses, but necessary to help lead those with opioid use disorder to the help they need to save their lives and repair the family unit.
For more information about how addiction impacts families and family members’ roles in a person’s addiction, stay connected with the AppleGate Recovery blog, where these topics are discussed in detail.