Drug and alcohol addiction, substance abuse, trauma and mental illnesses can significantly impact the quality and dynamics of family relationships. When individuals go to treatment and work toward reclaiming their life from behavioral issues, mental illness or substances, their relationships require similar attention. Healing family relationships and improving them so that communication and interactions are congruent with the recovery process requires dedication, compassion and effort from each family member.
Experts at Promises Behavioral Health who help individuals recover from addiction, dependency, abuse, trauma and mental health conditions implement family therapy sessions as part of treatment and understand how crucial a person’s family is to them and their well-being. For this reason, our clinicians guide individuals in recovery and their loved ones through exercises in setting healthy boundaries and strengthening relationships after treatment.
What are Personal Boundaries?
A personal boundary refers to a physical or emotional limit someone sets for themselves to protect their overall health and well-being. Boundaries—based on a person’s needs and values—enable people to express what is most important to them and maintain guidelines in their relationships regarding what behaviors, actions or conversations they find acceptable or unacceptable.
An unhealthy boundary may be a behavior or a thought a person misuses to manipulate the people around them and keep them away. However, a healthy one is a way of guaranteeing relationships will be respectful, safe, and supportive.
Tip #1: Recognize situations that require you to create boundaries.
The need for boundaries can be more apparent in some situations than others. Ultimately, your body, mind and feelings can indicate to you when boundaries are necessary. In some cases, you may experience:
- Knots in your stomach or discomfort
- Feelings of anger, resentment, sadness, confusion or shame
- An inkling that someone is manipulating you
If you think a particular situation could harm you, someone is asking too much of you or you’re asking too much of yourself, recognize your feelings and determine a suitable boundary.
Tip #2: Remember that setting healthy boundaries can contribute to your resilience in recovery.
It’s vital to keep your limits in perspective while you’re in recovery: setting healthy boundaries is not selfish but a way of focusing on yourself and your health. Establishing healthy boundaries with your family members while you’re in recovery can benefit the entire family. It allows everyone to be more considerate of each other’s needs and more supportive of necessary measures to protect each individual’s mental health.
Tip #3: Talk to a professional about how to initiate conversations about healthy boundaries.
Discussing boundaries with family members when you’re in recovery can be difficult. If you are unsure how to discuss setting limits with your family or don’t know what boundaries to create, consider reaching out to the experts at Promises Behavioral Health. We provide evidence-based treatment options and recognize that family members and support systems are crucial to recovery and stress management.
The professionals at Promises Behavioral Health can answer any questions you and your family members have, discuss treatment options and give you information to guide your discussions about mental health concerns and appropriate boundaries.
Through Promises Behavioral Health, you can receive personalized treatment through programs including, but not limited to:
- Anxiety treatment
- Eating disorder treatment
- Trauma and PTSD treatment
- Drug and alcohol detox
- Group therapy
Calling Promises Behavioral Health at 888-387-0364 enables you to receive the treatment you need with the support of your family.