The Stigma Of Addictions And How To Manage It Part2
June 28th, 2005 by Terry Keith
After you leave drug rehab you will probably meet up with some discrimination.
Who May Discriminate Against You
Your Family
Your Partner
Your Employer
Your Teachers
The Police
Your Friends
What Will You Experience?
Avoidance
Exclusion
Blaming
Low tolerance for differences
Greater focus on flaws or errors
Pity
Over solicitousness
Aggression
Why Your Family May Discriminate Against You
They love you and yet feel disappointed
They want the best for you and yet feel disappointed
You may have stolen from them and they are still worried about trust
You may have been violent and they are afraid
They have little understanding of addiction and feel confused by your past behavior
They are frightened and donā??t want you around anymore
Their expectations were too high and you couldnā??t meet them
They pity you because they donā??t believe you have the strength to change
Other reasons you will be aware of
Managing Discrimination in Your Family
Step 1: Set the stage
Take the time to think quietly and rationally about your family
Who are the members of your family?
What are their individual and collective values?
What do they think about you? How have they shown their beliefs?
Who in your family has had the most difficulty with your addiction?
Who do you trust the least, the most?
What do you want to tell them about you?
Write all of this down
Before attempting to deal with this issue, be sure that you are clear about the answers to the above questions. Again this can be something that you can work on while still in a rehab. Perhaps one of the counsilors at the rehab can go over your list with you and give you input. Drug addiction and it’s treatment involve your life and the lives of those around you. This is part on the homework to insure you get the very most you can out of any drug or alcohol rehab. I’ll discuss how to approach your family after you leave rehab with this information tomorrow.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 28th, 2005 at 8:08 am and is filed under Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
