Do you know that one of the most challenging jobs ever is being a parent? Raising children involves making tough choices each day, hour and minute that will affect your child. Parents try to do whatever they can and whatever they know, to prevent harm to their kids. But sometimes because of poor choices from either the part of the parent or the child, can lead them to the wrong way, hence developing wrong habits.
One of these wrong habit is drug abuse. Drug abuse is an unhealthy addiction to drug and can lead to disastrous consequences.
In 2013, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) reported that 8.8 percent of children from 12 to 17 years old were users of illicit drugs.
Even when the harm is done, most parents have tried to help their teens by seeking professional help through drug rehabilitation.
Having to make your teen go through alcohol or drug rehab is one of the hardest things any parent will do. Anxiety about how your child is faring as well as anxiety for your child’s future could greatly worry you.
Nonetheless, as a parent, there are some things you can do now to aid your teenager in his or her recovery from addiction. How can a parent help his teenager through drug rehab? You’ll learn that in this article. We will also look at some tips that will help you and your family overcome the challenges of the drug rehab process.
How Parents Can Help Their Teenager in Drug Rehab
If you have chosen to place your child in a drug rehab so that they can get professional help, you have made a right decision. For example, if you live in Las Vegas, you can check out Drug Rehab Las Vegas.
Addictions are difficult to overcome and can change the life of a teenager forever. While professional therapy from a drug rehab center can aid them, parental guidance, support and care can do more than that. Your role as a parent can affect their long term success in overcoming the drug addiction. Here are some things you can do to help your teenager in drug rehab.
1. Ask questions and learn about drug addiction
Drug addiction and substance abuse in teenagers are new to some parents today. To give your child the help he or she requires you have to be willing to learn about the specific type of drug addiction in question. Getting this needed knowledge will help you to better comprehend the recovery process and equally help you to deal with any problem in the future. Don’t be scared to ask questions about the recovery procedures and treatment options. Educate yourself regarding them so you can be better equipped to inform your child.
2. Get involved in the rehab process
Apart from learning about the addiction and asking questions, you need to actively get involved in the drug rehab process. Attend relevant drug rehab sessions with your teenager, take interest into how the recovery process will affect the child. If you are actively involved in the rehab process, it will the adolescent that you really want to help me and that will motivate him. Drug rehab centers like Sunshine Behavioral Health in Aurora, Colorado offer substance abuse treatment for addicts. They also make sure the parents are involved in the rehabilitation process.
PLEASE READ: 4 Healthy Habits In Addiction Recovery
3. Commend your teen’s effort to recover
Children love commendation and encouragement, it makes them to want to do things better. In same way, commending your teenager’s progress in drug rehab can give them the psychological boost they need to help them recover. Offering sincere commendation to them when they make little effort in their rehabilitation process will greatly enhance their zeal to recover successfully.
4. Pay close attention to your teenager
Pay close to your teen while he or she is in drug rehab by monitoring their progress, and being wary of any relapses or wrong signs. Some teens, while recovering from an addiction, might lead to them developing another addiction, this is known as cross-addiction.
One way is by regularly maintaining a line of communication with them. Don’t be afraid to have hard conversations, let them feel free to talk to you about problems that arise in the rehab process.
5. Patience is the key
It is not easy to see your teenager go through drug rehab, the experience is grueling, especially on the parents. But in the end you might find out the drug rehab to be propitious, if you are patient. Exercise patience as you see your teenager go through that. Remember that you are doing it to help them live a better healthy life. A teenager named Tommy wrote “I went to rehab scared, suicidal, lonely, terrified, eager get out, filled with depression & anxiety… I just needed my parents to show me support and care all through my ordeals and they did. Thanks to their help am now clean”.
How Can Parents Cope With The Challenge Of Drug Rehab Process?
We’ve discussed how you can help your teenager who is drug rehab, now how can you yourself cope with the stress. Here are some useful quick tips.
- Socialize with people, don’t let the issue bring you down and make you feel bad. Talk to friends and family members for support and comfort.
- Get professional help for yourself. Feelings of guilt can overwhelm parents when they teenagers are put into drug rehab. Seeking counseling as a parent can help the parent with their own feelings and teach coping behaviors.
- Don’t neglect your other family members. Your spouse and other kids might need your attention too. Balance your time so that none of your loved one is deprived of it.
- Lastly, make out time for yourself as a parent. Enjoy your hobbies, eat healthy and exercise often. Don’t let the drug rehab process affect your mental wellbeing
Family members are important to each other, their actions can affect each other’s behavior, even when it comes to overcoming substance use. Parents have much more influence on their adolescent than they know, your interest and effort to help them to recover from drug addiction will reap auspicious results.
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