Sundown M Ranch

Ways to Support Your Teen in Treatment for Chemical Addiction

A chemical addiction affects an entire family, and the recovery process should therefore involve everyone as well. If your teenager is undergoing addiction treatment for a drug or alcohol dependency, here are some ways in which you can support your teen on the road to recovery:

Participate in a Family Treatment Program

Sundown M Ranch’s recovery treatment center will offer family treatment programs for you to participate in. These programs are designed to help entire families heal from the pain and uncertainty experienced due to a loved one’s addiction. If you are able to heal as your teenager is recovering, post-recovery life should be easier and more pleasant for the entire family.

Attend Support Groups

Support groups held at your teenager’s recovery center will afford you the opportunity to share your experiences with others who will be able to relate. These support groups often enable family members to be more understanding and supportive of the recovering individual.

Don’t Place Blame

It is common for family members to blame a recovering addict for problems that have affected the entire family. Some individuals even believe that reminders of the pain and stress will help that loved one avoid triggers and resist the temptation to use again. On the contrary, this sort of blame is likely to discourage the recovering addict and may incite feelings that trigger cravings.

Provide Support and Encouragement

It is of vital importance to your teenager’s recovery that he or she knows you are supportive and will do everything you can to help him or her make a successful recovery from drug or alcohol use. Try to create an at-home environment where your son or daughter will feel safe and not be exposed to common relapse triggers. Be available to listen and encourage your teen whenever he or she wants to talk about his or her struggle with chemical dependency.

Are you looking for a rehab center that offers treatment programs your entire family can benefit from? Sundown M Ranch’s youth treatment programs can be complemented by family treatment programs, which can help your entire family heal and be positively involved in your teenager’s recovery. For more information about our Yakima facility and highly effective addiction recovery programs, call (509) 654-9033.

Congratulations to DeAnna Harrison!

Sundown M Ranch's very own DeAnna Harrison achieved her Associates of Arts Degree with Honors from Yakima Valley Community College on June 7th, 2012. For DeAnna, this represents a huge commitment and a conscious choice to believe in herself. We are so proud of her! Please give her a congratulatory hug when you see her!

How Can You Can Overcome Chemical Dependency?

If you're faced with a chemical dependency, you might feel its impossible to overcome. But the good news is there are plenty of resources and places to turn just when you feel you don't have anyone. Take a peek at these resources for more information on chemical dependencies. For more information about our treatment programs, call Sundown M Ranch at (509) 654-9033.

• What is the difference between a healthy and unhealthy relationship? Find out at this page from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Peer pressure is one of the biggest factors behind teen drug use. Learn all about peer pressure at this page from KidsHealth.org.
• Bullying is a lot more common than you might think. To find out how common, take a look at these numbers from BullyingStatistics.org.
• Genetics often largely influences an individual’s susceptibility to alcohol or drug addiction. Learn more at this page from the University of Utah.
• What are the signs of a codependent relationship? WebMD.com has the answer.  

Recognizing the Signs of a Codependent Relationship

Codependent relationships are essentially one-sided relationships in which one partner strives to make a relationship successful while the other does not, often to his or her detriment. Codependent behaviors are frequently abusive or emotionally destructive and can prevent a relationship from ever being mutually satisfying or healthy. Here’s a brief look at the concept of codependency, its warning signs, and its relationship to alcoholism and chemical dependency:

Disproportionate Effort: Codependency refers to the idea that an individual values his relationship to another person more than he values his relationship to himself. A codependent person might try desperately hard to keep a relationship alive, while the other appears to care little or not at all.

Financial Assistance: One of the clearest signs of codependence is frequent, one-sided financial assistance. If an individual simply “needs” his partner to remain in his life, he will do virtually anything to make that partner stay. Much of the time, this means giving that partner large sums of money as an incentive.

Low Self-Esteem: Some people develop codependency due to low esteem or develop low self-esteem during a codependent relationship. It’s fairly common for individuals to sustain unhealthy relationships because they don’t believe they’re good enough to be in relationships with anyone else.

Alcoholism and Drug Addiction: Unfortunately, alcoholism and drug addiction often go hand in hand with dependent relationships. In this case, dependency is also closely tied to the concept of “enabling.” Enabling describes a scenario in which one partner directly or indirectly encourages the other to drink or take drugs in order to preserve the relationship.

If alcoholism or drug addiction is playing a role in your current relationship, contact Sundown M Ranch today. We offer a variety of programs that help individuals and couples free themselves of addiction and codependent behavior. Call us today at (509) 654-9033 and take one step closer to living a healthy, drug-free life.  

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