When someone who is addicted to alcohol finally makes the decision to get clean and start the rehab process, their family and friends hope that recovery will be successful. You obviously want your loved one to make it through detox and other aspects of rehabilitation. Online surveys say that most importantly, people want them to maintain their sobriety after rehab has ended. It is essential to understand that recovery is a life-long process and your loved one will not simply be ‘cured’ when they come back from treatment. The family plays an important role in supporting the lifestyle changes that are required after rehab for ensuring long-term recovery such as offered at the Rehab Atlanta.

How can you help them? Here are some ways to explore:

Understand extended problems
The consequences of a loved one’s addiction can affect your whole family for a long time. Even though they may have completed treatment successfully, there could be some challenges to overcome, such as health problems, financial difficulties and relationship issues. Some of these hardships can be addressed by meeting with a financial advisor, encouraging your loved one to visit the doctor regularly and attend family-based therapy. Open and honest communication is important in relationships. To prevent the relapses, all such aspects are taken care of at Virginia Rehab.

Get educated and stay involved
Addiction can change the life of those who are close to the addict due to which the family needs help as well. A lot of alcohol treatment facilities provide family members education on topics like how addiction works and how to deal with stress. These programs are essential for maintaining family health after addiction. The whole family needs to be involved in the recovery process and to do that, the family should learn the best way of supporting their loved one. You can find numerous family outpatient therapy programs that can be useful for learning how to handle stressful situations. esides, there are many partial hospitalization programs in Virginia which can suit you in case you want a short-term recovery procedure.

Support sobriety
When living with a recovering alcoholic, one of the most important things that a family has to be aware of is the importance of other family members maintaining a sober lifestyle as well. When your loved one is in recovery, you want to keep them away from temptation, particularly in the first year of recovery. You should remove all alcoholic items from your home, even those that are kept for guests or special occasions. You also need to find new activities to do together like hosting a potluck, playing a sport together, planning a family vacation and more.

Avoiding relapse
You want your loved one to avoid a relapse as much as possible. This doesn’t mean that you should wait until a relapse has occurred to take action. Take advantage of technological solutions, such as Soberlink, for monitoring their blood alcohol level. Keep an eye out for sudden changes in behavior or attitude. If they lose interest in activities or hobbies or connect with people from their alcoholic days, you need to be on alert. If you see any of these signs, get in touch with their sponsor, encourage them to talk to a therapist and don’t judge or blame them.

Help manage stress
You should bear in mind that recovering alcoholics are more susceptible to stress and this can lead to a relapse. Relationships, family conflicts, work, health concerns, schools and finances can trigger stress. You can help your loved one in managing stress like encouraging them to exercise more, meditate, and start journaling and breathing steadily. Don’t just give them suggestions regarding stress-relieving activities. Offer to join them and also encourage open and honest communication that doesn’t involve any sort of blaming. Your job is to promote a comfortable and supportive environment for them.