According to a Pew Research survey, almost 50% of Americans said they had a family member or close friend who’s struggled with addiction. Addiction can not only hurt the individual, but it can also fracture relationships with loved ones. However, just because addiction may have strained your relationships with loved ones doesn’t mean you cannot heal those relationships. Keep reading to learn about effective communication skills in rebuilding relationships you can use during your own path to recovery.
At Outpatient LA, we provide premier outpatient addiction treatment in LA to help as many patients as possible safely and effectively overcome addiction. We understand how debilitating a disease addiction can be. That’s why we offer a wide range of addiction treatment options to ensure you receive the best care to support you along your recovery journey. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you achieve long-term sobriety.
Why Rebuilding Relationships Is Important During Addiction Recovery
Unfortunately, addiction is not only harmful to your health and well-being, but it can also cause a significant strain between you and your friends and family. However, during your addiction recovery journey, you can effectively rebuild relationships with your loved ones. It’s important to rebuild these relationships with loved ones during your recovery journey because you can lean on your loved ones for support and accountability along your path to sobriety. Although overcoming addiction may involve many ups and downs, having a strong support system behind you that you can trust can significantly help you maintain your sobriety.
5 Effective Communication Skills to Help Rebuild Relationships
Now that you know more about the importance of rebuilding relationships, keep reading to learn about the communication skills in rebuilding relationships you can use in your own recovery journey.
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Be Open & Honest to Rebuild Trust
First, it’s important to understand that honesty and openness are critical in relationship communication so your friends and family members can start to trust you again. This is because likely as you struggled with your drug addiction, you may have broken their trust in some form (ie. lying about your addiction). Therefore, be honest about where you are at in your recovery journey and be patient as you build back trust in your relationships.
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Take Accountability/ Don’t Be Defensive
Next, it’s also important to not be defensive and take accountability for your actions in the past. Although addiction is a debilitating disease that can make you do hurtful and unhealthy things, at the end of the day, rather than blaming your addiction, take ownership that you are working toward achieving sobriety.
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Improve Your Listening Skills
It’s also important to actively listen to what your family members and friends have to say to fully understand what they are going through. Plus, to understand how your addiction may have hurt them and their lives. While your loved ones are there to support you on your recovery journey, it’s important to acknowledge you have likely hurt them through your addiction.
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Maintain a Balanced Conversation
Similar to the above point, maintaining a balanced conversation is another one of the communication skills in rebuilding relationships you must master. In other words, make sure the conversation isn’t one-sided. Open the conversation up so your friends and family members have the opportunity to contribute.
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Positive Nonverbal Cues
Last but not least, positive nonverbal cues are an oftentimes overlooked skill when it comes to communicating with others. Positive nonverbal cues include making eye contact and being open and receptive to the people you are conversing with, rather than looking distracted and uninterested (i.e. looking at your phone when someone is talking to you).
Top-Rated Los Angeles Outpatient Addiction Treatment
Rebuilding relationships with loved ones is a critical part of your road to recovery. While it may take some time and patience to start rebuilding those relationships, the above communication skills in rebuilding relationships can go a long way in mending relationships you may have fractured due to your drug addiction.
If you or someone you know is struggling with addiction, help is available. At Outpatient Los Angeles, we’ve helped many patients break free of addiction once and for all. We offer a comprehensive variety of treatments so you can get the right care you need to best support you on your road to recovery. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you progress on your recovery journey.