Tag Archive: youth addiction

  1. Family Involvement in Youth Addiction Recovery

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    Family Involvement in Youth Addiction RecoveryUsing drugs during adolescence and the teenage years can directly impact the development of a child’s brain. These changes are usually long-term with very slim chances of reversing the damage, potentially leading to learning deficits or health problems later in life. It’s essential to talk to your children about the risks to their health when they try drugs. But what about the kids who already have an addiction? What will happen to them?

    It may seem daunting to prepare your child for recovery. It can also be very stressful on the family unit, but it is vital that your child feels supported throughout the process. Family involvement in rehabilitation for children is a pivotal factor in their success. There are many beneficial ways that your family can become involved in a loved one’s addiction recovery.

    Learn About Your Child’s Addiction and Recovery

    Understanding why your child chose to use drugs can be very hard on parents or siblings. Sometimes, parents feel like they may have done something wrong, but this is not true. There may be many reasons why your child chose to try drugs. A person’s environment, psychological traits, and stress levels all play significant roles in the use of alcohol or drugs.

    For young people, who they spend their time with and how they handle peer pressure can also be major factors. Learning about your child’s addiction is key to helping them – and understanding their position also contributes to a non-judgmental attitude. When it comes to addiction in adolescents and teens, getting help for them as soon as possible is very important. People who start using drugs or alcohol early in life run a higher risk of becoming dependent.

    Research suggests that children experiment with drugs based on their perceived risks of using. It would be a good family exercise to learn about drugs and their long-term negative impacts on health. Learning the details about your child’s recovery is also essential because it allows you to give support. It’s hard to be a positive influence if you do not understand the process they are going through.

    Participate in Intake and Treatment Plans

    Participating in intake and treatment is another way to understand your child’s recovery process. Here, you can ask any questions you have about what your child will experience. By helping to create a treatment plan for your child, you can show them that you are supporting their recovery and they are not doing it alone. Children need to feel secure, and addiction recovery often makes them feel very vulnerable. Parental involvement can help them feel comfortable with the treatment, which is vital to success.

    Practice Open Communication

    An open flow of communication is critical in any relationship. Having open communication with your child is also critical to their recovery. Free channels of communication mean that your child may come to you with issues they may have tried to hide before. When this happens, a non-judgmental attitude is necessary. If a child feels like they will be judged or given harsh punishment, they may keep difficult issues to themselves.

    There has to be a foundation of trust. Open communication while in recovery is also essential to make sure your child is getting the best care possible. A person needs to feel comfortable with their therapist or counselor to be honest with them. Kids view adults as authority figures, and sometimes that leads to less trust.

    Your child will likely feel vulnerable during this time, and you must communicate that it is okay to feel that way – your child needs to understand that their feelings are real and valid. Explaining to them that you also struggle with emotions and urges is an excellent way of showing that what they are experiencing are normal human fears and concerns.

    Attend Family Group Therapy

    Families may find it challenging to adjust to the person who is in recovery, who now behaves differently than before and needs lots of support. Even after a family member begins treatment and recovery, other family members may continue unhealthy behaviors. This is why family group therapy is so beneficial.

    Often, people are not aware of how their actions affect others – and this is especially true for parents and their children. Young people are very impressionable, and many look to their parents or siblings as examples. If family members are engaging in negative behaviors, it can influence the child. Negative behaviors that remain in the family may also make your child feel that it’s okay to take recovery less seriously.

    If a family member has problems and they do not seek treatment or healthy solutions, your child probably won’t take recovery very seriously either. Family therapy helps show your child that their family is supportive of their recovery in all ways. If the whole family chips in towards living a healthier lifestyle, it may influence your child to do the same.

    Give Non-Judgmental Support

    We’ve talked a lot about non-judgmental attitudes while dealing with your child’s addiction and recovery. This may seem a lot easier said than done, but the benefits for your child’s recovery are well worth the effort. It’s important to create an atmosphere of acceptance and loving compassion for your child.

    If they fear they will be ridiculed or looked down upon, they will be less likely to attend treatment or engage in open communication. The same goes for their peer group. If your child is attempting sobriety, they may be ridiculed by their friends and peers. In that case, it’s even more critical for your child to have a safe space where they can be mindful of their recovery and feel less vulnerable – and that safe space can be the family.

    If you or someone in your family is struggling with addiction, you don’t have to go through it alone. We can help you all get through this experience together. Contact Sustain Recovery today at (949) 407-9052.

  2. Challenges Facing Youth In Recovery

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    Challenges Facing Youth In RecoveryJust about every year, the number of young people in recovery rises. Nobody can say exactly why; it’s a combination of factors that aren’t completely understood. Either addiction is spreading, which would be troubling; the stigma behind it is receding, which would be positive; or both, which leaves you unsure of how to feel.

    One thing is for certain: Young recovering addicts require a special kind of support that not every healthcare specialist is fit to provide. Their experience in recovery is often very different from than that of adults or older addicts.

     

    Attending College While Sober

    Many young people have a difficult time transitioning to college, but for youth in recovery, fitting in can feel like an all-out chore. Merely finding friends is pretty tricky, because drinking and partying are the two main avenues for social engagement, as far as many young people are concerned. Those who don’t participate in these activities, even if they’re not in recovery, may feel tempted to do so just to fit in and make friends.

    Hardly any students are aware that their university offers a multitude of fun, sober-minded clubs, organizations, and games. Why? Because those scenes aren’t the scene.

    Challenges Facing Youth In Recovery

    Today, it’s easier than ever to find support and acceptance on your campus–or even online–as a recovering addict. The sober-mind youth subset is growing–it’s not just recovering addicts–and most universities have offered sober dormitory housing for ages. There, sober students can easily meet, unite, and build a common identity with other youth in recovery.

    College doesn’t have to be the relapse mine-field we often assume it to be. If a recovering student participates in sober-minded activities, college can actually make for some pretty good aftercare treatment–the ultimate training ground for getting back out there in the real world as a new, sober person.

    What better place to reinvent yourself than a place in which virtually everyone, recovering or not, is looking to do the same?

    Not to mention that almost every university offers counseling services to their students in case of crisis.

     

    Holiday Considerations

    The pressure to celebrate with booze and drugs is a relapse-trigger that young recovering addicts must face several times per year. It can feel outright wrong to refuse the tradition: go out, get drunk as can be, and have an incredible time. The 21st birthday is worth discussing at length particularly because it is so overblown. This is the day on which many addicts stop feeling proud of themselves and begin feeling victimized. That’s the best time to remind themselves what they figured out in treatment: that life is better clean and sober, where you can be your authentic self, and that’s the truth every day of the year.

     

    One of the most prominent problems for young addicts is the availability of help, or at least the way they perceive it. Most insurance plans cover addiction treatment; if not, there are other options, too. Call Sustain at 949-637-5499 to discuss your options and opportunities.  We’re here to help.

Sustain Recovery changed my life in a way I never considered remotely possible. I arrived in a place where I knew nobody. Sustain Recovery gave me tools so that I never had to be alone again. I learned how to live like an adult and have genuine relationships with other human beings. I gained a sense of self respect, love, and pride from the challenges I was given by staff. I was able to work through the recent loss of my father and I achieved my goal of not taking any psychiatric medication.
I learned that life is an endless balancing act. I have to continually work on myself and my relationships with the people in my life. The staff at Sustain Recovery are all incredibly experienced and spiritual. They were available to me whether I wanted their help or not. Through their efforts and experience, I experienced the inner workings of having an intimate, loving relationship with a loving creator.
Sustain Recovery is “home” for me. I discovered a loving, caring family that helped launch me to a place I would have never dreamed and, if I would have dreamed it, I would never have believed I would be able to accomplish it.

K.C.
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