Latest A Forever Recovery Blog Posts Shares Advice On How to Help a Former Addict Stay Clean
Battle Creek, MI (PRWEB) March 31, 2014 -- In its latest blog post, A Forever Recovery, an open-ended drug and alcohol treatment program that gets clients off to a great start and gives them a solid foundation in recovery they can believe in, has some invaluable advice for family members, friends and all other caregivers who want to help a former addict stay clean.
“Caregivers are an essential part of the recovery process, especially when it comes to helping prevent a relapse,” commented A Forever Recovery’s CEO Per Wickstrom. “However, providing real, lasting help takes more than good intentions. Caregivers need to know the best way to provide support, so that they can be part of the long-term solution.”
According to the A Forever Recovery blog post, family members, friends and other caregivers who want to help an addict stay clean should keep the following in mind at all times:
• Invest time to deeply understand the complex, multi-faceted nature of addiction. Despite their best intentions, many caregivers have an incomplete awareness of the psychological, physical and emotional aspects of addiction. In fact, some caregivers still view addiction as merely a habit or a lifestyle choice, which is categorically wrong.
• Be willing to talk openly about addiction in a non-judgmental manner. Despite their often rough outward appearance, many former addicts are extremely vulnerable and deeply ashamed of what they’ve done in the past to themselves and, especially, to others. Caregivers become a key part of the healing and recovery process when they allow themselves to talk about addiction and, even more importantly, listen.
• Provide a safe, supportive environment. Helping a former addict stay clean is virtually impossible if that person is regularly or even sometimes constantly exposed to drugs and alcohol, or surrounded by people who pressure them directly or indirectly to fall into former patterns of behavior.
• Increase the support group by encouraging family members and friends to help, or by researching various community services and programs where former addicts and experts can gather to talk about challenges, and provide essential advice, support and love.
“Caregivers who help addicts stay sober often don’t realize how important they are, and the opportunity they have to truly make a permanent, positive change in someone’s life,” added Per Wickstrom. “This kind of opportunity may never come again, and so it’s up to caregivers to do everything they can – in an informed manner – to help. They may not just make someone else’s life better. In many cases, they may actually save that life.”
The latest A Forever Recovery blog post entitled “How can you help a Former Addict Stay Clean?” is available at http://aforeverrecovery.com/blog/addiction/can-help-former-addict-stay-clean/
About A Forever Recovery
A Forever Recovery program is an open-ended drug and alcohol treatment program that gets clients off to a great start and gives them a solid foundation in recovery they can believe in. Not every treatment methodology works for every client. Some people are very receptive to 12-step principles, whereas others are more comfortable with faith-based treatment. Cognitive approaches have excellent success, whereas others thrive within a more holistic approach. A Forever Recovery allows clients to choose from a wide range of recovery methodologies, coupled with Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT), to achieve success rates unmatched in the addiction treatment industry. The bottom line is that there is no single therapeutic approach to recovery that works for everyone… until now.
Learn more at http://aforeverrecovery.com/
Pamela Anderson, A Forever Recovery, http://aforeverrecovery.com/, +1 (269) 788-0496, [email protected]
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