Understanding and Loving a Family Member with Alcohol or Drug Addiction

Addiction/Recovery

Understanding and Loving a Family Member with Alcohol or Drug AddictionIt has been said that alcoholism is a family disease. Why? Alcoholism affects the entire family—everyone in the family needs to get help. If you have a family member who struggles with alcohol or drug addiction, is there a healthy way to respond to them? Yes, absolutely! You must understand family roles, and understand what your next step should be.

What Are the Family Roles?
In looking at families of addicts, there are different behavioral roles:

The Dependent: this is the alcoholic/addict in the family. He or she has the real problem.

The Chief Enabler: this role is typically taken up by a spouse (more…)

6 Resources for Your Recovery

Addiction/Recovery, Articles on Recovery

  1. Time:
    We never feel like we have enough. Yet a day turns into a week; weeks turn into months; months turn into years. Take the first step — set a short term goal. But do it today. Don’t put it off until tomorrow!
  2. Work:
    God has work or ministry for which you are to serve His purposes. Begin each day by asking, ‘What, Lord, would you have me do today‘?
  3. Possessions:
    Learn to hold on loosely to the things of this world, or they will hold on to you. Another question you can ask is, ‘What, Lord, would you have me to do with this possession?‘ It isn’t wrong to have things. Our troubles start when things have us. (more…)