Noticing the signs and symptoms of drug addiction in your teen can be devastating for a parent. Trying to cope with your teenager's substance abuse problem will be one of the most challenging things you will have to encounter. You will be drained emotionally, physically, and financially.
First helping yourself what is the best approach to help your teen and prevent your teen from relapsing and getting stuck in a crisis and rescue cycle.
Implementing the tips below and finding teen sobriety services for your child will help to provide stability and the understanding needed to help your teen throughout treatment and recovery.
Work on your relationship:
Teen drug addiction will undoubtedly push you to your limits and try to destroy your relationship with your child. Even with a solid plan to get your teen help for their addiction, there will be pushback, and this is where working on strengthening your relationship is crucial. Knowing the signs that your teen is going to relapse will be helpful for preventing or catching the relapse early.
Using open-ended questions and active listening to help facilitate a successful conversation with your teen. Open-ended questions are not answered with a simple yes or no, such as:
What would make you want to quit?
What activities will help you stay sober?
How can I help?
If you are feeling overly emotional, don't try to have these conversations. Let yourself regroup and re-approach. Being upset, irrational, or sarcastic will not get you anywhere and may even damage your relationship further.
Focus on positive progress:
Getting your teen help for their addiction will be taxing; falling into the pattern of only noticing the negative will be easy to do. Your teen is already dealing with so much and having someone constantly pointing out mistakes will destroy any confidence they have left.
Focusing on positive aspects of your teen's progress will help rebuild a new family dynamic and create a sense of teamwork.
Self-care:
As you focus on getting your teen help for their addiction, your needs will likely be put on the back burner. As you care for your child, your stress can become crushing and leave you feeling empty and burnt out. Being mindful of your needs and practicing self-care will allow you to show up for your child and be stronger in your quest to save your teen from a lifetime of addiction. Some self-care practices you can put into place are:
Ask for help when needed
Take time to indulge in a hobby
Talk to a therapist, friend, or family member
Join a support group
Eat well and exercise
Helping your teen through drug addiction can be challenging, but teen sobriety programs can help your teen through and offer support to you and your family.
Rebuilding your relationships and life after addiction will take time and effort. Our teen addiction experts will create a customized treatment plan and work side by side with you in the home, or virtually until independent short and long-term success has been achieved. If you’d like to learn more about our teen sobriety services, please click here.