Support for Families of Alcoholics
Alcoholism is a complex mental health disease with many issues that can affect many aspects of a person’s life. Not only does it affect the person with alcoholism, but it also affects their community, family, friends and support system. Addiction can be painful for everyone involved. It can create emotional and psychological challenges for everyone. Parents of alcoholics are affected. Friends of alcoholics are affected. Children of alcoholics are also greatly affected. In fact, studies have found that 7.5 million children in the US live with at least one parent who struggles with alcohol addiction. Support groups and outreach programs for families of alcoholics have become more important now than ever.
The support system of family and friends can be integral in alcohol recovery. If your support system is unwell and negatively impacted by your actions, they will not be able to help you recover. Support groups can be extremely helpful and significantly impact the outcome of an alcoholic’s recovery. Oftentimes family members will blame themselves for their loved ones’ drinking addiction and may not understand why recovery isn’t their priority. Support groups help educate and provide insightful information, resources and tools families need to help themselves and their addicted loved one.
How to recognize an Alcohol Use Disorder
- Strong cravings to drink
- Difficulty controlling alcohol intake
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms after drinking
- Persistent drinking despite worsening health
- Persistent drinking despite damage to relationships with friends, family and coworkers
Al Anon
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led support group that focuses on active recovery through a 12-step program. Those with alcohol use disorders are highly encouraged to join such support groups and surround themselves with a community of like-minded peers with similar life experiences to help them throughout their recovery journey. But what about support groups and programs for those who are living with alcoholics or have an alcoholic in their family? Where can these people turn to for help, resources and support?
Al Anon is an organization designed for people who have friends or family members with a drinking and alcohol problem. It is a peer-led support group for friends and families of those with an alcohol use disorder. Al-Anon was created in 1951 and took on the same 12-step principle from Alcoholics Anonymous and applied it to support the friends, families and communities of those who suffer from alcoholism.
Support groups such as Al-Anon have come to understand that drinking is a family and community illness. It provides an opportunity for loved ones to learn from the experience of others who have also faced similar situations and problems in dealing with a person with alcohol issues. Most members of the group are people who have been affected by a loved one’s drinking problem. This can include parents, children, siblings, employers and friends. Meetings are held across the nation. Each meeting is different and unique and its members will choose the format. Al Anon is not affiliated with any religious organization and the meeting’s anonymity and privacy are respected. They focus on helping those affected by a loved one’s negative drinking behavior.
Families of Addicts
Another support group created to help the friends and families of alcoholics and drug addicts is the Families of Addicts. It was founded about 8 years ago, during the opioid epidemic crisis that continues today. Current data shows that the drug overdose epidemic has only continued to rise with 2021 being the deadliest year. Families of Addicts recognize that addiction affects all members of the family and it is often the supportive family member who is in a better position to seek out help and treatment for their addicted loved one.
The 501 C3 nonprofit organization was created to support families and individuals struggling to cope with addiction within their community and home. It is a unique approach to addiction recovery in that it helps foster a better understanding of how addiction affects every member of the family and community. Families of Addicts members participate in outreach and speaking events to create awareness and reduce the stigma often associated with addiction, alcohol use disorder and substance use disorder.
Mission – To educate, empower and embrace families, friends and other individuals struggling with addiction through support and recovery promotion.
Vision – To become a model organization that empowers individuals and families of addicts through addiction recovery efforts.
Purpose – To reduce the stigma behind addiction and ensure that there is availability for treatment and recovery support services while influencing public opinion on the value of addiction recovery.
This organization also focuses on advocacy while also providing resources and connections for those living with a loved one who is an addict. For those individuals with addicted loved ones, the organization advocates for them if they do not have the ability to do it themselves and also acts as a middleman between person-to-person resources when necessary. They help members build a network to maintain relationships with important recovery resources within the community and fill in the gaps where there are no resources. This helps improve the quality of life for the addict through the tools, resources and care from members of the organization.
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Support for Families of Alcoholics
- Families Anonymous – A 12-step program for people who have a loved one struggling with drugs or alcohol, are suspected of abusing drugs or alcohol or are in active addiction. This organization helps members focus on their own healing and growth through the 12-step parameters.
- Codependents Anonymous – Another 12-step support program for people who are trying to regain a healthy relationship with themselves and others after being under the drama of another person’s addiction. Many of these members have spent many years in a relationship with someone who has an addiction.
- Adult Children of Alcoholics
- Parents of Addicted Loved Ones
The benefits of joining a Support Group
- Helps you take care of your mental and emotional health
- Helps you create healthy boundaries
- Helps you learn when you are supporting and when you are enabling
- Helps you learn how to not enable and fuel the addiction
- Knowledge to better see and understand the warning signs of addiction
- Helps you to better understand the long-term side effects addiction can have on the family unit
- Provides the tools, resources and education you need to help your loved one navigate their addiction
- Helps you with effective strategies for family support as well as supporting your addict
- Helps you create an open and honest communication line with your addicted loved one
- Knowledge of the disease to help you empathize and better understand the complexities of addiction
Reach out to Hotel California by the Sea
We specialize in treating addiction and other co-occurring disorders, such as PTSD. Our Admissions specialists are available to walk you through the best options for treating your addiction.
Treatment for Substance Use Disorder
It can be very difficult to stand by and watch your loved one as they spiral out of control in their addiction. They can be faced with dire consequences, where you feel helpless in providing them the support they need. Support for families of alcoholics is out there and comes in the form of various addiction support groups. These volunteer-run support groups are peer-led and consist of members who may be experiencing the same life situations when dealing with a loved one who is an alcohol or drug addict. Family support groups are a great way to build a community to heal yourself as well as your family. Addiction of any kind is difficult and should be treated through a behavioral health treatment program such as Hotel California by the Sea.
We provide treatment at all levels of care including detox, residential, and outpatient programs. We utilized effective treatment methods that include CBT, DBT and family therapy. The combination of medication and behavioral treatments can help clients get to the root cause of their addiction. Hotel California by the Sea is dedicated to treating all aspects of addiction to help our clients achieve their recovery goals and reach sobriety.
References:
https://www.alcoholhelp.com/support/al-anon
https://www.addictioncenter.com/treatment/12-step-programs/al-anon
https://www.americanaddictionfoundation.com/getting-help/support-groups-families-addicts-alcoholics/
https://foafamilies.org/
https://projectcourageworks.com/how-to-help-an-alcoholic-family-member/
https://al-anon.org/