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How To Deal With Addiction In Sibling?

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How To Deal With Addiction In Sibling?

In a family, the bond between siblings is very strong. Siblings love each other and get dependent on each other as a friend, confidant, and person who understands life more than anyone else. However, addiction can impact your bond with your sibling and the relationship can turn out to be confusing. Learning how to deal with addiction in the sibling requires a great level of patience.

Though every member of the family gets affected, the sibling gets a great shock.

Reaction to a loved one’s addiction

Some of the common scenarios that happen with a sibling are:

  • You feel addiction was more important than you for your sibling- you will surely start feeling that your sibling doesn’t love you anymore. A big part that you need to realize is the use of the substance by the person has nothing to do with you.
  • You start having a feeling of broken trust- you may believe your sibling about promising no use of substances initially but eventually, you may lose trust. You don’t believe them even they say they are sober. Moreover, it becomes hard to build trust again.
  • Your parents are enabling the addiction of your, creating tension between you are your parents- you may start getting angry from your parents for facilitating the addiction of your sibling, which may lead to dysfunctional parental relationships. This may make you feel that your parents are focused on the addiction of your sibling.
  • You are unsure of how to react- when people figure out that their brother or sister is going through addiction, they usually choose one out of the two directions. They may lighten down the situation and act like a clown of the house. Some people may go to the other side and let their school work slide.

It is quite normal to feel uncertain or hurt when someone you love is struggling with addiction. There are some strategies that might not be easy but are helpful in supporting your sibling.

Dealing with an addicted sibling

First of all, it is important to avoid enabling behavior. For this, you must learn addiction and enablement so that you can take several steps to prevent this dangerous cycle from happening in your relationship with your sibling.

Maintaining a sense of trust and communication with your sibling without being an enabler will prove to be beneficial for you. Even in some situations when you get frustrated, it is important to avoid blaming, nagging, or lecturing your sibling. Doing so will push your sibling more into addiction and away from people who love him.

Furthermore, you should not try to use drugs and alcohol around your sibling because those who see their siblings using substances may feel encouraged for using them. This is something, which is unhelpful and will add more problems.

When you are thinking about dealing with the addiction of your sibling, then it is better to talk to your family first. Then, if your sibling rejects for opting a treatment, you can intervene in the process.

By being a part of the recovery process of your brother or sister, you can work towards rebuilding your relationship and healthy ways to communicate with one another.

Wrapping up

It is easy to see your sibling falling for addiction but tough to bring back. Follow the above tips and see how things change.