Establishing boundaries when you are recovering from addiction or when someone close to you is fighting it is extremely important. Addiction affects one’s ability to stop substance abuse even when it affects their life, work, relationships, health and well-being. While kindness to yourself and to your loved one is needed during such a difficult time, healthy boundaries should be set early on and kept throughout the recovery process.
Here are some clear boundaries you should set during the rehabilitation process.
Set a Space Where Substance Abuse Is Prohibited
Be very clear about them using substances in your home, near children, in a space where stability is needed.
Don’t Bail out an Addict from Situations They Get Themselves into
Having supporting family and friends should not mean having someone deal with the consequences of your mistakes for you. The more you do it for someone, the less they have to deal with the reality of their choices, creating an escape where only the substance abuse matters for them.
Don’t Fund the Common Expenses of Someone with an Addiction
Although it’s tempting to help out with money, or taking over some of their bills, it’s not always helpful for someone dealing with addiction.
Don’t Recreate Situations or Circumstances That Trigger Their Need
One of the most important boundaries to set is avoiding triggering the situations when the addict usually gets to use,
Don’t Cover the Truth or Tell Lies to Make Their Life Easier
For the same reasons, covering the truth, lying for someone who struggles with consequences and responsibilities because of their disorder is not helping. Many addicts find themselves obsessed with getting the dose they need to stop the withdrawal symptoms, which can determine them to use manipulation or deceit, behaviors created by the addiction.
Why You Need Boundaries
As mentioned before, boundaries are extremely important in dealing with addiction, and it might not be perfectly successful, especially in the beginning of the process. But knowingly, repeatedly breaking such essential boundaries pushes the one suffering from addiction back into its mechanisms, delaying the whole process or even sabotaging it entirely.
If the one suffering from addiction has trouble keeping these boundaries, reinforce them by reducing the time you spend with them and protecting yourself from the toxic relationship. Only the person who is suffering from substance use disorders can knowingly make the decision to recover from it, and sometimes people are not ready to face the truth. Seeking recovery options like drug rehab would be very effective in addressing these issues and paving the way towards full recovery.
Don’t Hesitate to Get Help at a our Rehab
Addiction isn’t something you can treat on your own. You need specialized treatment and a a strong support system to help you overcome this disease.
A simple consultation with a specialist, if your loved one agrees to it, can be extremely helpful in defining the possible underlying causes of addiction, explaining the importance of the boundaries and proposing the best plan of action towards recovery.
Call Rehab South Africa today for free, impartial advice.
