Why You Shouldn’t Keep Your Addiction a Secret

Addiction to anything, whether it be gambling, narcotics or alcohol, can be an embarrassing truth to reveal to your friends and loved ones. Keeping your addiction a secret, however, is a damaging behavior that may result in a downward spiral. It’s important to have an active and engaged support network of people who know what you’re struggling through so that they can assist you with recovery and help you through your relapses.

Working with a facility specializing in clean and sober living in Phoenix, AZ is an important way that you can learn how to cope with your addiction and recruit the help and support of family members and loved ones.

Fighting addiction alone isn’t just dangerous—in most cases, it’s impossible. When you are trying to kick your destructive behaviors, you need the support of your friends and family members to help keep you accountable and on a sustainable path toward recovery.

Telling your loved ones about your addiction is often challenging, however. Here are just a few ways that you can prepare yourself to tell your family members or loved ones about your struggles with substance abuse:

• Admit the problem: Before you admit your addiction to friends and family members, you must first admit it to yourself. You have to be open and honest with yourself about the scope and severity of your problem. It’s important to fully comprehend that you have lost control of your behavior, and that your habits are damaging your health and longevity.
• Join a support group: It’s usually easier to admit your problem in a group of like-minded people before bringing it up to your family. You should consider joining a support group and discussing your problem before bringing it up in front of your loved ones. It can also help you practice your admission strategy.
• Write out your admission: You should write out your admission, and practice it prior to bringing it up with your family. It’s best to prepare for several different reactions. This advance preparation can help prevent you from panicking and becoming overly emotional during the admission.
• Address the problem: Once you’ve prepared, it’s time to bring up your struggles to your friends and loved ones. Depending on the situation, it may be best to do this individually or in a group setting. If you suspect that some family members may react negatively, you should have more supportive individuals in the room as well.

Advanced Sober Living is a new holistic facility promoting clean and sober living in Phoenix, AZ. We provide our clients with a safe, stable and supportive environment that can help former alcoholics and drug abusers on a path toward recovery and regained self-worth. We are proud of the services we are providing residents of the Phoenix area.

If you or a loved one are struggling with substance abuse, you should reach out to one of our friendly and compassionate staff members today. We can help provide you the tools you need to build an active support network and take the first steps toward recovery.

Categorised in: Clean and Sober Living

This post was written by Writer