Mental Illness Awareness Week with Telehealth
Substance abuse impacts your life and strains relationships with colleagues at work, close friends, and spouse. No one decides to become dependent on illicit substances. However, millions of individuals in the US misuse alcohol, illegal drugs, and prescription medication, leading to substance use disorders. But how do you handle a loved one with an addiction? During Mental Health Awareness Week, we encourage people to seek treatment for addiction via telehealth appointment with Sunstone Recovery.
Understand Your Loved One With an Addiction
Learning about your spouse’s substance use problem can be a step to finding and recommending the right help. If you have never had drug dependency issues, it may be difficult to understand why someone cannot quit. Overcoming this condition is not simple for many people, so they continue abusing drugs despite knowing the severe consequences.
Drugs contain chemicals that alter your brain, making it challenging to resist the extreme urge to use.
After you identify a mental health issue in a loved one, the best course of action is to seek professional rehab treatment services, such as:
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)
- A dual diagnosis treatment program
- Intensive outpatient program (IOP)
Beware of Codependent Relationships
Addiction can impact an entire family. Your loved one’s condition can affect you, your children, and others living in your home. Living with a person who is struggling with a substance use disorder impacts you in several ways.
Do you experience negative emotions due to your spouse’s behavior? Codependency can hinder your life, but there are other negative repercussions, including:
- Anger and irritability
- Panic and anxiety attacks
- Pain due to increased fights and arguments
- Shame and guilt
- Lack of trust in your partner
However, rehab treatment can give you vital skills to help your spouse with addiction and save lives.
Find a Support Group
Do not believe you are alone. While you may experience a painful and overwhelming situation, other people are facing similar challenges. Fortunately, support groups provide a platform where you can ask questions and get answers from your peers. Use them to acquire vital skills to deal with addiction. Social isolation due to stigma only worsens the problems.
Support But Do Not Enable
When a marriage works well, a couple relies on each other for support. Addiction can damage this if you are the only one trying to make things work without receiving the same from your loved one with an addiction.
Ask yourself: Do you hide your partner’s addiction from your family members and close friends? Identify any red flags in your relationship and find the right ways to handle them. Do not take actions that cause a continued addiction habit.
Set Boundaries
Setting boundaries can change the direction of your relationship for the better. When you allow your loved one to continue abusing drugs and causing trouble, your physical, mental, and psychological health will be at risk. Such experiences can be devastating and destructive, but you can mitigate them by setting boundaries. Your loved one may be worried about COVID-19, but telehealth services lay those fears to rest.
For example, do not allow the consumption of illegal drugs and alcohol at home. The rule is not to punish your spouse with addiction, but to push your loved one into accepting professional intervention. It also reduces exposure to your children and other family members.
Contact Sunstone Recovery for Addiction Treatment
Do you want to help your loved one with an addiction? The experience can be devastating, but you can save your relationship by recommending professional rehab treatment. Talk to the experts at Sunstone Recovery for professional assistance to overcome your condition. Contact Sunstone Recovery at 855.833.9199 to get started with telehealth mental health and addiction treatment.
