Today I've been thinking about communication. How do you talk and
discuss addiction with a person with a substance abuse problem?
When talking to relatives, I have noticed that many don't mention "alcohol" or "drugs" by name when talking to their close one. This may create ambiguity, misunderstanding and it may also lead to
denial from both sides.
Unclear vs. clear communication
An example might be that the relative
says: "You seem tired today, I don't want to have dinner with
you when you are so tired and sluggish." Instead of clearly
saying: "I feel uncomfortable having dinner with you when you have
been drinking. I really like having dinner with you when you're sober."
When using the first example, the signal going out to the person with an addiction might be that he/she needs to be "awake" and alert in order to have dinner with the other person. The sentence doesn't directly have anything to do with drugs or alcohol, and the person may keep being in denial.
When using the second example, you clearly state your opinion; what you really think is the problem, and how you would like the situation to look like instead. There's no place for misunderstanding or false accusations, and even if the person doesn't do what you would like him/her to do, you've clearly stated your point!
To dare expressing own opinions, thoughts and feelings can help both yourself and other people! This can be applied to all areas in life.
All the best to you!
/Carina
This is a re-post from something that I wrote some time ago. I wanted to publish it again since the topic is very important and highly relevant when it comes to how our society looks like today: illegal drugs are very easy to access, mainly because of the internet. I hope this post can be helpful to you as a parent to a teenager or young adult.
There's one thing that I keep thinking about: do you really have to live together with a person just because you love him/her?
I often hear people justify their stay in destructive relationships with the phrase: "But I love him!", and therefore, letting their limits be moved, letting themselves being exposed to the situations which only hurt them. Allowing themselves to live in a relationship where they don't feel good.
Because they love someone...
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE SELF-HELP MANUAL FOR RELATIVES OF SUBSTANCE ABUSERS HERE.
Price: $4.99
Congratulations!
Today's the last day of the “challenge week”!
In the end, the challenges were for YOU.
But we're not quite finished yet, see today's challenge in the picture below!
And here are some final questions you can think about: in what kind of ways did you take care of yourself? Did you find it hard? Easy? Which challenge did you find most rewarding? If any of these challenges helped you, try doing them again!
See you again dear readers and followers! TAKE CARE!
/ Carina
Prioritize and take a stand to something you don't want to do, and to something you want to do! Listen to your needs! See the exercise on the picture.
Keep up the good work! :)
/ Carina
Research shows that people who have the ability to feel gratitude are happier. So go ahead! See the picture and write a thank you-list today!
I'm thankful for doing this challenge!
/ Carina
See the challenge in the picture.
Do it today! :)
This challenge requires some focus. It's easy to forget, so remind yourself of the challenge throughout the day! See the picture.
• Social support (if positive) reduces feelings of guilt and shame
• Social support strengthens our immune system
• Social support reduces stress and increases our ability to handle stress
See the challenge in the picture! Good luck! I hope you find it useful :)
THE CHALLENGE HAS BEGUN!
I'm really looking forward to this week with focus on greater well-being! I'm convinced that if you do the daily challenges, you'll notice that there are some easy steps which you can take that might be useful to you!
Every morning at 8 am (Central European Summer Time) until Sunday I'll post a daily challenge. The challenges aren't difficult; they're meant to be easy so you can do them in everyday life.
HERE'S THE FIRST CHALLENGE! (see the picture below): Please rate your satisfaction in the various areas of life. I would like to know your answer to the question: What's the easiest thing you can do to increase your satisfaction in one of these areas?
GOOD LUCK! :)
/Carina
