What is Enabling and are You Doing It?

Nobody wants a friend or family member to struggle with addiction or alcoholism. Oftentimes, we’ll do anything we can to help those we love the most.

However, sometimes helping can be hurting, especially when it comes to addiction. At Banyan Detox Center, we understand that enabling behavior can happen to anyone. It may spring from an overabundance of care, from denial of the problems, or from your own challenges with the situation. Regardless of the reasoning, enabling won’t help your loved one get sober. Instead, one of the best ways to help them is to get them into a program for personalized treatment for substance abuse in Florida. Is your behavior enabling? There are some signs to keep a lookout for that indicate enabling behavior.

You’re Lying and Making Excuses

Addiction and alcoholism are often associated with considerable stigma. Enablers often find themselves lying about the addict’s true situation, or they pass the blame for the addict. This behavior is an attempt to reduce the stigma for the addict or provide protection from the shame of addiction.

You’re in Denial

One hallmark of enabling behavior is to ignore the true state of the problem. Maybe you’re refusing to understand the full scope of your loved one’s addiction, or you’re ignoring the problem altogether. But ignoring a loved one’s addiction won’t make the problem go away, it will only enable things to get worse.

You’re Giving them Money

If you know that your loved one has an active addiction, giving them money will not help at all. This is enabling, and it can be incredibly dangerous. Rather than giving your loved one money, give them true assistance by getting them personalized treatment for substance abuse in Florida.

You’re Rescuing Them and Cleaning Up Their Messes

We all want to help our loved ones, and when addiction is the problem, this help can look a little different. Cleaning up the messes your addicted loved one creates won’t help them get sober. Rescuing them from their own choices, such as giving them a place to sleep after they get kicked out of their home due to drug use, won’t help them in the long-run.

You’re Ignoring Your Needs

Putting the needs of your addicted loved one before your own needs is a disservice to you both. First, it fuels the addict’s needs and encourages their behavior. But worse yet, it puts your happiness and health in the dark. If you find yourself ignoring your own needs in favor of the addict’s needs, you’re enabling.

It’s Not Too Late

It’s never too late to finally help your loved one make the right changes in their life. Realizing you’re an enabler is a powerful step in changing your approaches, allowing you to finally help your loved one. At Banyan Detox Center, we offer many approaches to treatment.