Talking to Your Family About the Treatment Process Before You Go

Making the decision to finally get help for your addiction is huge, and there’s no doubt that your family is thrilled about this decision. Chances are, they have been affected in many ways. However, there is still a chance that certain family members don’t understand the treatment process and what will happen while you are away in rehab. That’s why talking to your family about the treatment process before you go is extremely important so that everyone is comfortable throughout.

What to Say to Your Children

If you are a parent, you will have to have an honest – and possibly difficult – conversation with your children about where you are going and why. When you are talking to your family about the treatment process before you go, make sure you hit these key points with your children:

• Explain that you are sick and that you need help. Depending on how young your children are, you will want to put your addiction into a context that they understand. You can relate it to times they have been sick and needed to get better, so that way, they understand that you have an illness that requires treatment.
• Validate their feelings. If you haven’t been able to go to their soccer games due to your addiction, if you have had angry outbursts at them due to your addiction or if you have not been otherwise present due to your addiction it is important to acknowledge these things. Don’t act like your addiction is no big deal – make sure you say, “I know I haven’t been to many of your soccer games because I’ve been sick. But, I am leaving to get treatment so that I can be able to come to more games and spend more time with you.”
• Apologize and start small. Make sure you apologize to them for how your addiction has affected them, and be sure not to make promises that you can’t keep. Start small by saying you will call them every week, and work your way up the ladder with them.

What Your Family Can Do

Your family may be confused about how they can help you while you’re away, or what they should be doing while you are away. While there are many family programs your family can enroll in to learn more and help them through this process, there are a few simple things you can explain to them right off the bat.

Support

Support is the number one thing you will need while you are going through treatment. When you are talking to your family about the treatment process before you go, explain to them that their support and involvement will make all the difference. This can be tough for some family members due to the consequences of your addiction, which makes it all the more important for them to be involved with family therapy.

Clean the House

Ask your trusted family members to do a clean sweep of the house to get rid of any and all triggers. Be open and honest with them about any hiding spots or triggering things around the house. Give them the opportunity to let you come home to a clean slate without any immediate possibility of relapse.

Keep Narcan on Hand

If you suffer from opioid addiction, make sure your family gets some Narcan in the event of a relapse. This is a life-saving measure, and it can be purchased over-the-counter at most local drug stores. While the hope is that you do not relapse at all, it is a good idea to be prepared for one just in case. If you do not suffer from opioid addiction, it is still important for your family to be aware of the signs of relapse.

Stick to the Aftercare Plan

When you come home from treatment, it will be a whole new lifestyle for everybody. It can be easy to slip back into old habits, that is why treatment aftercare involves a lot of hard work. It is important to take it one day at a time – sometimes, one minute at a time – and keep consistent with boundaries and consequences. Allow your family to keep you in line if they feel like you might be headed toward relapse.

About Pinelands Recovery Center

Talking to your family about the treatment process before you go can make for some emotional and difficult conversations. However, there is a high likelihood that your family has been severely impacted by your addiction. By going to treatment, you will become a better and more present family member for them. It takes work by the entire family, not just you, so making sure everyone is on the same page and fully understands the treatment process is crucial for successful long-term recovery.

Pinelands Recovery Center of Medford is widely known as one of New Jersey’s finest, most respected addiction treatment facilities. With comfortable 30-bed accommodations and 24-hour professional staff, we can offer clients a serene, relaxing environment amid the lush piney woods. This stress-free setting with its sense of warmth and welcoming enables you to feel comfortable and confident about your clean and sober life ahead.

We will establish clear goals, both general in nature and specific to your needs. We continue to monitor those goals, to make sure that our clients are progressing and buying into their recovery plan. We thrive on assisting clients in feeling connected to the recovery community, share and demonstrate effective coping techniques, help clients to modify attitudes and patterns of behavior and everything else you will need to be happy and productive living a sober, healthy life.

We ensure that clients complete their planned concrete tasks, encourage hope, optimism and healthy living. Our recovery program is not a revolving door treatment program; it is a recovery model designed to help clients go on to lead productive, happy lives. For more information, visit pinelandsrecovery.com