As far back as you can remember, you always did whatever you could to help your child. Whether it was driving them to soccer practice or helping them with a school project, you did everything in your power to help them succeed. Unfortunately, your adult child is struggling with substance abuse and has even left home to support their addiction.
Once you learned that your child refused help for their addiction, you felt hopeless, angry, confused, frustrated amidst a sea of other emotions you can’t even begin to describe. Now, you’re left wondering what you can do to help your child in this stressful situation. In this post, we’re going to provide a variety of tips that you can use to help guide your child to find the support they need.
5 Tips to Help Your Addicted Child When They Refuse Treatment
1. Set Up Direct Communication
Before you can do anything to help your child, you’ll need to have a reliable way to get ahold of them so you can be there to support them. Reach out to your child and ask them for the best way to contact them if you need to. At this stage, you should try to avoid mentioning anything about their struggles with substance abuse. While your ultimate goal is to encourage them to get treatment, right now, you want to try and rebuild some trust with your child.
2. Encourage Them to Seek Treatment for Their Mental Health
If you’re adult child is struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, they could be using the substances as a way to cope with a mental health condition. The stress, anxiety, depression and insomnia they’re experiencing could be the driving force behind their destructive behaviors. In many cases, people struggling with substance abuse are more receptive to getting treatment for their mental health disorders. While your child will have to speak about this addiction at some point, the prospect of breaking free from their mental health disorder can be a powerful motivation for getting sober.
3. Find a Therapist to Help You
When you have a child who’s struggling with a drug or alcohol addiction, the concept of getting help for yourself might seem like a foreign concept. All of your energy is focused on trying to find a way to help your child, but it’s important to look after yourself as well. A therapist will be able to help you navigate all of the complex emotions you’re feeling about your child’s addiction. Plus, a mental health expert will also be able to shed some light on what your child is going through. That way, you’ll be able to better relate to them in the future.
4. Avoid Using Guilt
It’s natural for a parent to lecture their child or use guilt as a way to try and get them to get help for their substance abuse. However, you should never use guilt in an attempt to convince your loved one to get help. Giving them support and offering resources like an addiction treatment center to research is a better way to motivate them. Your child is struggling with very intense cravings and emotions, adding guilt on top of that can end up doing more harm than good.
5. Don’t Blame Yourself
It’s important to remind yourself that the current situation is not your fault. By admitting to yourself that you are not to blame for your child’s refusal to get treatment for their substance abuse, you can let go of any frustration you’re holding onto. With your frustration limited, you’ll be able to hold a more positive mindset and be there for your loved one when they decide to get help.
Give Your Loved One Hope for Lasting Recovery
At The Raleigh House, we can offer your child a holistic and personalized treatment plan to help them reach lasting recovery. Our expert staff has helped countless individuals reclaim their life from addiction and find a new purpose that keeps their commitment to sobriety going. If your adult child has refused help for their addiction, our team is happy to see how we can help. Contact our admissions team today to get started.