Best Chance or Worst Nightmare

I was sitting with a group of counselors the other day and one of them who we will call Jason said, “So many times, I see a person leave treatment in great shape and after a couple of weeks or month back at home, they are falling apart. Before you know it, they are another relapse statistic.”

“So true,” Cindy chimed in, “It just isn’t working to treat the addict without really helping the family.”

When treatment centers truly ‘get this’, this do their best to try to help the family get their act together. Most offer a weekend or week long retreat, a few offer more.

“But it’s not easy,” said a Joe. “All our time is used working with the struggling addict and all the paperwork.”

“Yeah, but i do spend a lot of time on the phone with parents,” Tom added, rolling his eyes. “Most of the time, trying to get them to discourage their child from leaving early or going on holiday right after treatment – but the parents rarely listen and i end up feeling defeated.”

Conversations like these happen all the time in treatment centers all over the country.

The research shows that families make all the difference and that a sick family can derail all the good a treatment center has done. Yet, few families initiate getting their own help, and few treatment centers offer enough help to get the families back on track for the long haul.

That’s why we started the BALM®. (and if you are lucky, your loved one’s treatment center is BALMing and you get a full year of Comprehensive Family Recovery Education, including Information, Transformation, and Support! But more on that later.)

We know you need as much if not more help than your loved one. After all, they numbed out through all of the chaos of using and drinking. But, most likely, you were wide awake, traumatized and very shaken up by what you experienced. Perhaps they still are using, or maybe they are sober now.

Either way, if you don’t get help, you are, most likely, contributing to the downfall that eventually comes for almost every using addict or drunk.

Principle Four of BALM® Recovery explains that you CAN be your loved one’s BEST chance at recovery.

What does this mean?

In a nutshell, when you stop enabling and start helping, you are contributing to their recovery.

When you get out of denial and into awareness, you are contributing to their recovery.

When you put YOUR self care before THEIR demands, you are contributing to their recovery.

For more detail, be sure to read, listen to, and study the Fourth Principle lesson, discussions, expert interviews and recovering speakers. It will give you the information you need to understand this concept deeply. And then, after principle four, get started on your 7 Steps, where you will learn how, step by step, you can be your loved one’s best chance in your every interaction, gesture, and conversation.

Next daytime class starts Thursday, March 16th @ 11:00 am ET, and evening class starts Wednesday, April 26th @ 6:00 pm ET. To register, contact Tracy at tward@familyrecoveryresources.com.

Principle Four may be the MOST important principle as it tells you what you MOST need to hear. that you DO matter in your loved one’s life – just not in the way you previously thought.

In principle three, we studied the art of letting go without giving up or giving in. And now, how to contribute powerfully to recovery.

An educated family member CAN make a difference! Are YOU in?

If you are a member of the BALM® community, you have everything at your fingertips to contribute to recovery! If you are not yet a member, contact Tracy to learn more at tward@familyrecoveryresources.com (subject line: Tell me more about the BALM®)

Bev