At Florida Rehab Centers the Family Is the Patient
Family often plays a major role in addiction recovery. When a member of your family enters a drug treatment center, it is very normal to feel resentful and to become distant. It is also common for the family of the addicted individual to believe that they cannot bring up the topic of addiction, or the many situations in which their loved one has harmed the family, for fear this will incite anger. To break the cycle of addiction, each family member must fully engage in the drug treatment process and participate in their own rehabilitation. Florida rehab centers are seeing an increase in success rates of long-term sobriety when the family receives treatment for their feelings of anger and their desire to withdrawal from drug use.
Drug Treatment Centers Identify Symptoms of Affected Family Members
Florida drug and alcohol rehab facilities believe that addiction as a disease that affects not only the person abusing chemicals but those who love them as well. Symptoms of substance abuse in a person suffering from chemical dependency and symptoms of those suffering from second-hand addiction are very different but equally damaging.
Symptoms of Chemical Dependency Found In The Addicted Individual:
- Abrupt change in behavior
- Mood swings
- Distancing from family members
- Improper or lack of personal hygiene
- Loss of interest in favorite activities
- Inability to sleep or sleeping all-day
- Red or glassy eyes
- Sniffly or runny nose
- Compulsive behavior
- Theft of money or expensive items
Symptoms of Chemical Dependency Found In The Family of The addicted Individual:
- Anger
- Guilt
- Denial
- Isolation
- Rationalizing the behavior of a loved one
- Making excuses
- Accepting excuses
- Bargaining
- Depression
In Addiction, Unless Everything Changes, Nothing Changes
As you can see in the symptoms list above compiled by several Florida rehab centers, recovery can not happen unless both the family and the addict change. Too many times the recovering alcoholic returns home after spending time at a drug treatment facility to find a family that has not changed. The addict or alcoholic has relived him or her self of the obsession to use drugs or alcohol and has started to remove many of the symptoms listed above. The family, on the other hand, has not participated in therapy at a Florida rehab center and all of their symptoms remain in place. When this event happens, 9 out of 10 times the addicted individual will revert back to using and old behaviors to match the reaming symptoms of his family.
Rehab Centers in Florida Sound Call for Co-Treatment
Conversely, at the same time that the family is working to refrain from co-dependent and enabling behavior through a drug rehab family program, the recovering addict is participating in an IOP program. Both recover faster and influence each other’s recovery in a positive matter through this treatment structure. When the family and the addict share the experience of substance abuse recovery, they form a bond that is proven to be much stronger than the family bond that existed before the substance abuse started. Florida rehab centers are leading the call for the co-treatment of family members. This model has proven to decrease relapse rates, increase sobriety lengths and bring families back together for good.
