Finding out that your daughter is struggling with drug addiction can be extremely difficult. Oftentimes, parents are at a loss concerning how to help their drug-addicted daughter. Additionally, dealing with the effects of your daughter’s addiction can begin to take a toll on you. For example, when your daughter is addicted to drugs, you may find yourself suffering from anxiety, depression, shame, or even guilt. Moreover, you may have no idea how to help.
If your daughter is dealing with drug addiction, you may be wondering how to help her. It is common for the parents of a drug-addicted daughter to focus all of their attention on helping their child. While getting your daughter help should be a priority, it is important to continue to take care of yourself and your other family members. Keeping this in mind, continue reading to learn more about how to help a drug-addicted daughter.
How to Tell if Your Daughter is Abusing Drugs
Oftentimes, parents of drug-addicted daughters do not know how to help them simply because they do not understand the reasoning behind their behavior. There are several reasons girls may begin to abuse drugs, including:
- Low self-esteem
- Peer pressure
- Self-medication
- Weight and appearance issues
To continue, these causes of drug addiction are sometimes related to an underlying family history of drug addiction. Additionally, causes of drug addiction may include a poor relationship between parent and child, academic problems, early puberty, history of physical or sexual abuse, conduct disorders, and the peer influence concerning alcohol and drug abuse. To explain further, girls are typically more sensitive to family issues when compared to boys. Additionally, girls are more prone to anxiety and depression, making them more susceptible to addiction.
The signs and symptoms of drug addiction concerning females, in particular, include:
If you notice any of these signs in your daughter, she might be suffering from substance abuse or addiction.
How to Help a Drug-Addicted Daughter
If you and your spouse have been dealing with the effects of your daughter’s drug addiction, it may be time to intervene. For example, parents of drug-addicted daughters may suffer from strained relationships with their spouses, other family members, and friends. Also, self-blame or blame towards your spouse and your daughter may be experienced as grief, fear, anxiety, and wondering if your daughter is safe and alive. If you suffer from the mentioned effects of having a drug-addicted daughter, there are steps you can take to help her.
Get Professional Help
The first step in helping your drug-addicted daughter is admitting that you cannot do this alone. Dealing with the effects of your daughter’s addiction can tear you and your family’s lives apart. Due to this, seeking external help for yourself and your daughter is recommended. For example, it would be beneficial to reach out to drug experts, charities, therapists, and family counselors.
Even if your daughter refuses professional help, you and your family should attend professional family therapy. While this may seem self-indulgent, your daughter’s addiction has had negative effects on you, your spouse, and any other loved ones who have been involved in her life. In other words, you should get professional help for yourself, your family, and your daughter who is addicted.
Remain Calm and Supportive
If you have just found out about your daughter’s drug addiction, it is important to remain calm. If you react poorly, you could create tension between yourself and your daughter – making the task of helping her that much harder. Instead, if your daughter has trusted you with information about her drug addiction, just listen to her. Let her vent for a while, allow her to feel heard and cared for, and then begin to ask her questions about her addiction. However, when asking your daughter questions about her addiction, remember not to interrogate her. Make sure that you allow her to feel safe, supported, and understood.
Additionally, it is important to remember that quitting a substance suddenly can cause severe drug withdrawals. Because of this, you should not stop your daughter from using unless there is a treatment and detox plan already in place.
Communicate with Your Spouse and Make a Plan
Your daughter’s drug addiction will challenge you and your spouse. Also, you and your spouse may begin to challenge each other. Drug-addicted daughters will stop at nothing to obtain their next high, and as parents, you will be enabling her if you allow this to happen. Situations like these can begin to put a strain on anyone’s marriage. As a result, it is essential to make an agreement with your spouse about how you will deal with this reality together.
Things you must discuss with your spouse include:
- How you will help each other throughout this difficult time
- How to prevent blaming each other
- Sticking together on your stance with your daughter
- Researching and understanding addiction and how to help
- How you will talk to your daughter about her addiction and how you will support her
- Ways by which you can support the rest of your family during this time
- What questions do you have? Also, how will you gather more information about your daughter’s addiction?
- Will we hold an intervention?
- What are our boundaries concerning our daughter and her addiction?
When dealing with a daughter’s drug addiction, you and your spouse should have frequent conversations to discuss supporting each other and your daughter.
Treatment for Your Drug-Addicted Daughter
If you are seeking help for a loved one or drug-addicted daughter, your best option is to send her to a professional drug addiction treatment center. During addiction treatment, your daughter will learn how to deal with daily stressors while healing from the root causes of addiction. Additionally, most substance abuse treatment programs offer family addiction therapy. This can help mend any issues you and your spouse have faced due to your daughter’s drug addiction.
Contact Agape Treatment Center today for more information on our drug addiction treatment program.
