Tag Archive for: acceptance

The Power of Silence: Taking Time to Listen and Support

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Silence as a Form of Recovery Support: Listen and Learn

Communication is a two-way street but it is not uncommon for an addict to get nothing from those around them but being talked down to, yelled at, or told what they are doing wrong. As a supportive loved one, family member, or friend, we must listen, we must pause and offer our loved one the respectful gift of silence. We must place on-hold our need to fill the void of sound and allow the addict to express their needs first. Taking time to listen gives our loved ones a chance to release what is within, setting aside the judgment and allowing for vulnerability.

If your loved one needs support, or you are personally struggling with active addiction, the Orange County detox and rehabilitation specialists at Fresh Start of California can help. Call our team today for the support you need.

How Silence Can Help in Recovery

There are many ways in which sound can impact our wellbeing. Constant talking, noise, or sound can negatively impact our mental and emotional health. Contrastingly, quiet environments improve health and wellbeing, reduce the use of mind-altering drugs, and can help an addict find the space to share.

Other ways that sound can be involved in recovery support include: 

  • Noises can be triggering, negatively or positively. Sounds stick with you, such as guitar melodies, loud voices, screeching vehicles, or arguments. Silence and supportive listening help to reset the mind and create an opportunity for your loved one to create positive memories, associated with the sounds of their choice.
  • Release auditory stressors that may feel like torture for a recovering addict. Keep in mind that you do not know all of what your loved one has experienced in his or her addiction. Listen to them for cues to what kinds of conversations are comfortable and less stressful.
  • Silent presence may be exactly what your recovering loved one needs. Whether when we are sick or are working through difficult emotional or mental times, a loved one offering quiet presence is comforting. It may all our loved one needs to feel safe and to relax.
  • Silence promotes sleep. Sleep that is interrupted by noises or that is not in silence may be restless, which is not as healing. Being available, but leaving space for silence, is a wonderful way to support your recovering loved one.

Silence in a Medical Setting: Your Support at Fresh Start of California

At Fresh Start of California, it is our job to offer support in all aspects of detox and recovery. We are here to act as your counselors, your nurses, and doctors, and equally importantly, to hold space in silence for you. Our detox and recovery professionals understand the importance of silence in the medical setting as it allows our patients to express what they are feeling, physically, mentally, or emotionally. We also can implement and demonstrate silence through silent meditation or holding space for others in silence during a group setting.

For detox and rehabilitation options in Orange County, contact the team at Fresh Start of California. We are here to answer your call 24/7.

Parents of Addicted Teens: Acceptance VS Condoning

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Parental Instinct and Using Emotion to Fuel Action

When we find out our child is using or has fallen into the trouble of addiction, our initial reaction may be disgust, resistance, anger, guilt, and stress. Unfortunately, these reactions are not going to help. It is best to channel any emotions into action and refrain from trying to understand cause and effect. Trying to understand the “why” from the get-go can make us miss chances for intervention.

With the knowledge that our child needs help, we must understand the difference between acceptance and condoning the drug or alcohol abuse. Acceptance is recognizing the reality of the situation without attempting to protest it or change it while condoning is allowing behavior that is morally wrong or offensive to continue despite its ramifications.

At Fresh Start of California, we understand the difficult place that a child’s addiction can put a parent in. We know how precarious it is to make the right choices and worry about the wrong ones. Let us help you and your child have a fighting chance against addiction.

Contact the Orange County detox and rehabilitation specialists at Fresh Start of California for addiction recovery options and where to start. Call our team today.

What Does Acceptance Look Like?

Acceptance may look like seeking help, offering ways to avoid use, arranging counseling, or intervention. There are many ways to work with your child to fight against the power of addiction including:

  • Finding motivation for abstaining from the use
  • Finding ways to limit peer pressure in a manner that supports recovery
  • Seeking an understanding of motives for use, such as: is it for fun? For acceptance by peers? Or self-medication for mental or emotional distress?
  • Offer an incentivized challenge for quitting, or for abstaining for a certain period.
  • Set house rules and guidelines with consequences with the knowledge that the user may continue.

Acceptance may look different for every family, but the key is to have an understanding with your teen that you are on their side and that you are going to help them through the path of recovery.

What Does Condoning Look Like?

Condoning the behavior of an addict, even your child, is often the result of a few different factors: a parent ‘s drug or alcohol abuse or addiction, the desire to be friends more than a parent figure, the notion that the home is a safe space for experimentation. Condoning behavior may look like:

  • Using drugs or drinking with your teen
  • Allowing your teen to use or drink at your house
  • Supplying alcohol or drugs to your teen or teen’s friends
  • Raising your child around drug or alcohol use
  • Not being conscious of censoring your drug or alcohol use

It is important to understand the implications of condoning the addictive behavior of a teen user. Our teens deserve a fighting chance at life after recovery.

A Fighting Chance with Fresh Start of California

Our Orange County team of detox and recovery professionals can help you connect with the resources you need to get your child through. Recovery and abstaining from drug or alcohol use may require different commitments of a teen than an adult. Our specialists understand that as a parent, you will need help navigating the rehabilitation process alongside your team. Let the experts at Fresh Start of California help you when the ones you love most are in trouble.

Contact Fresh Start of California in Orange County today.