For Friends & Family: You can't force recovery, but you can stand beside it.

Core Principles

1. Educate yourself

Educate yourself about addiction and the specific substance or behavior your loved one is struggling with. Understanding that addiction is a complex brain disorder, not a moral failing, can help you approach the situation with empathy and patience. Learn about the signs, symptoms, and effects of addiction, as well as the recovery process. This knowledge will help you better understand what your loved one is going through and how you can best support them.

2. Communicate Openly

Communicate openly and honestly with your loved one, expressing your concerns without judgment or criticism. Offer a listening ear and create a safe space for them to share their feelings and experiences. Encourage them to seek professional help, such as therapy or addiction treatment programs, and offer to assist in finding resources or accompanying them to appointments. Set clear boundaries to protect your own well-being while supporting their recovery efforts. This might include not enabling their addictive behavior, but still offering emotional support.

3. Seek Support

Take care of yourself throughout this process. Supporting someone with addiction can be emotionally taxing, so it’s important to maintain your own mental health and well-being. Seek support for yourself through therapy, support groups for friends and family of addicts (such as Al-Anon or Nar-Anon), or trusted friends. Remember that you can’t force someone to recover; they must be willing to make changes themselves. Your role is to offer support, encouragement, and resources, while maintaining healthy boundaries and taking care of your own needs.

Support Groups

The following support groups are available to offer community for friends and family of those struggling with addiction:

Al-Anon: For friends and family members of alcoholics

Nar-Anon: For those affected by someone else’s drug addiction

Families Anonymous: For relatives and friends of those with drug, alcohol, or behavioral problems

Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA): For adults who grew up in alcoholic or dysfunctional homes

SMART Recovery Family & Friends: Offers tools and techniques for families to help themselves and their addicted loved one

Co-Dependents Anonymous (CoDA): For those struggling with co-dependency, often related to a loved one’s addiction

Gam-Anon: For those affected by someone else’s gambling problem

S-Anon: For friends and family members of sex addicts

Parents of Addicted Loved Ones (PAL): Specifically for parents dealing with a child’s addiction

Learn to Cope: Offers peer support for parents and family members of those addicted to opiates and other drugs

Grief Recovery After a Substance Passing (GRASP): For those who have lost a loved one to substance use disorder

NAMI Family Support Group: While not specifically for addiction, it supports families dealing with mental illness, which often co-occurs with addiction

Parents Anonymous: Provides support for parents under stress, which can include those dealing with a child’s addiction

Recovering Couples Anonymous: For couples where one or both partners are in recovery from addiction