If you have been to any kind of addiction treatment, whether it is through addiction recovery treatment, counselling, therapy, self help groups, meetings, etc., you will be familiar with the words ‘find support ‘. This is because finding support to help you throughout your addiction, addiction recovery treatment, and long term recovery, are of utmost importance. After all, trying to go at it alone can be a tough battle. Before we show you how to build a support system that is strong and well supported, let’s discuss what it means to build one. A support system is used to refer to the people that are in your life who can nurture, understand, encourage, and care about you. They will be around you through good times and bad. Perhaps you are now thinking that no one you know resembles this situation; this is okay because this article will help you to get around this, and other bumps in the road of your addiction treatment.
Step 1: Make a List
The first thing to do when trying to build a strong support system is to make a list of characteristics that you are seeking in a ‘support person’. For example, you may know that you are wanting someone who…
- Will listen to you anytime you need to ventilate or communicate something without changing the focus onto them self; even if it takes a few hours.
- Will be available at any time, day or night throughout your addiction treatment.
- Will respect your right to refuse their venting on you if you are unable to cope with it.
- Will not discuss matters, such as alcohol and drugs, which could cause you to have cravings.
You will probably have a good idea of what you are wanting. Once you have written this list, move to step 2.
Step 2: Make a Second List
As part of your addiction recovery treatment, think about all the people in your life who would be a candidate for your support system. This could be your spouse, child, therapist, doctor, friend, sponsor, teacher, and so on. Once you have made this list, go through each name and think about how many times you have reached out to them for support. Think about whether or not their advice or support helped you. Beside each name, write this down and then rank them 1-10 using the chart below.
- Strong consistent support
- Strong Support average consistency
- Strong Support, Moderate ability to be there consistently
- Strong Support, but inconsistent availability
- Good Support
- Average Support
- Moderate Support
- Occasional Support
- Rare Support
- No Support
Look at how the individual rates for support; this will give you an idea of the support that you are getting from the person. Those that may have lower ranking numbers does not mean that they don’t care about your addiction recovery or that you should not look to them for help, instead it may just be that they are very busy with their own life; therefore, they should not be the first person you turn to, to help with your addiction treatment.
Lastly, keep in mind that even your strongest support person may not be able to meet all of your needs at once, but they will do their best. Additionally, keeping in contact with them can be useful. For example, calling them just to talk, going out for dinner, or anything other than reaching out for guidance and support can help to strengthen the relationship as a whole.
If perhaps, you feel that you have no human support, you could consider group meeting and private therapy or counselling. While neither can respond in words, they can listen without judging. Of course, do not forget that your rehab or treatment center will always be there for you even after addiction recovery treatment. Support groups and meetings are also full of people giving support.
If you or someone you know has an addiction to drugs or alcohol, please contact The Cabin Chiang Mai today for help with addiction recovery treatment today.
