While being close to someone addicted to alcohol can be tragically painful, when an alcoholic decides to break the addiction, approaching alcohol rehabilitation can be viewed with a mixture of apprehension and relief. While it is exciting to know that your loved one is taking charge of his or her life, you might wonder what kind of support you should be during alcohol rehabilitation.
If you loved one is going through alcohol rehabilitation at a treatment facility, you might be able to talk to a counselor there to find out what sort of treatment your loved one is receiving as well as what you can do to help. But there are some general guidelines about what you can do to help. Avoid blaming, shaming or judging. Once an alcoholic has entered treatment, they often feel very vulnerable and are often feeling pretty badly about themselves even if they’re not admitting it to you. You’ll also want to make sure that you don’t drink around your alcoholic loved one. Putting temptation their way isn’t going to do any good. Yes, they’re going to have to learn to deal with a world that drinks, but let your own home be an enclave of sobriety. And if you’re not sure what your recovering alcoholic loved one needs, there’s one final thing you can do – ASK! In alcohol rehabilitation programs, they’ll be learning better communication skills and will be taught to try to articulate what they need.