Addiction is a family disease.
When someone you love has a problem with alcohol or other drugs, you carry it too. You are not alone — and there is support here for you.
You are not alone
The more you do, the worse it can seem to get
Loving someone through addiction is exhausting. Families pour time, money, and emotional energy into holding the problem together — and it can seem like the more you do, the worse it gets. That is not a failure on your part. It is how addiction works.
At Stepping Stone, we treat addiction as a family disease. We know you are hurting. We know your family needs healing too — and that healing is part of the work.
Start with yourself
Put your own oxygen mask on first
Airlines tell parents to secure their own oxygen mask before helping anyone else, because someone who can't breathe can't help. The same is true in a family crisis. Taking care of yourself is not selfish — it is what makes it possible to keep showing up.
Support groups exist specifically for families of people facing problems with alcohol and other drugs, and we encourage you to try one. Support from a counselor, therapist, pastor, or mentor helps too.
Family support groups worth knowing:
When treatment begins
What to expect in the first weeks
When your loved one enters residential treatment, they begin with an orientation phase. For those first weeks they focus entirely on settling in — the community, the structure, recovery itself. That means no contact with family and no outside meetings until orientation ends.
You may feel relief that they are somewhere safe. You may also feel anxious, or strangely unmoored, as you adjust to them not being around. All of that is normal.
This is the right time to start building your own support. Please take care of yourself.
Healing together
Family support at Stepping Stone
Family healing is part of treatment here. We host a weekly family group, and our therapists are available for optional individual family counseling alongside your loved one's treatment. Ask about both when your loved one is admitted — or reach out to us directly.
Worried about someone you love?
You don't have to wait for them to ask. Tell us what's going on, and our team will help you understand the options — for them, and for you.