Drug Rehab Center

In the sixth and final instalment of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy talks about family members being emotionally stuck even though they are trying to rebuild after a loved one returns from treatment. Resentment is often at the heart of being stuck emotionally, where family members find themselves stuck in the past.

In part 5 of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy talks about how family members can move forward after their addicted loved one returns from treatment. More importantly, family members ask how they can trust again. Cathy emphasizes the importance of recovering addicts to take ownership and accountability for their behaviour and commitments.

In the 4th instalment of Emotional Wreckage, Cathy Patterson-Sterling explains what family members and spouses can do after a loved one returns from treatment. Untangling the issues involves family members figuring out how their relationship to the addicted individual has changed now that he/she has returned from treatment and is beginning his/her recovery journey. Family members need to ask themselves if they are adjusting to life after treatment. For example, am I still trying to fix everything? Am I allowing him/her to take responsibility for the choices he/she makes in life? For family members, recovery is an opportunity to put their loved one in recovery back in the driver seat of life.

In part 3 of her series on Emotional Wreckage, Cathy Patterson-Sterling discusses the ‘breaking point’ – a time where there is a potential for growth that arises out of a crisis. When families are collapsing under the burden of addiction, an opportunity to rebuild co-arises with the collapse. Cathy alludes to the metaphor of the phoenix bird that appears out of the flames of destruction.

In part 2 of the Emotional Wreckage series, Cathy talks about how people returning home from residential addiction treatment often prefer to avoid talking about their addiction and the past. While turning over a new leaf may seem like a good idea for the recovering addict, it can be a problem for family members trying to heal from the impact of their loved one’s addiction. Family members may still have unaddressed hurt and resentment. When a loved one returns from treatment and wants to forget about the past and ‘turn over a new leaf’, family members can feel powerless and angry that their needs are not being considered.

Cathy Patterson-Sterling, in part one of her six-part series, looks at the emotional wreckage facing families impacted by addiction. Emotional wreckage is like an accident scene where there is a collision between people that ensues from a family member’s addiction. Emotional wreckage can include financial, legal, and relationship damage. The crisis point (or tipping point) is the time before someone gets help for his/her addiction where addiction is no longer a problem that can be swept under the rug and ignored.

By Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC
Director of Family Services
Sunshine Coast Health Center

When family members express guilt over time spent looking after themselves, Cathy suggests that a better understanding of the distinction between love and sacrifice. As Cathy says, ‘there is no we without me’.

By Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC
Director of Family Services
Sunshine Coast Health Center

Cathy suggests that self-care involves different aspects of life. It is more than just staying calm and relaxed – it also involves intellectual growth and physical health.

By Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC
Director of Family Services
Sunshine Coast Health Center

Low grade worry is a form of anxiety or type of stress that can impact times in our lives where we are required to show up in life with energy and enthusiasm. This is particularly true for those in the service industry that have direct contact with the general public. Cathy suggests that we focus on the source of this chronic, low grade worry and worry about the stuff that we have control over and letting go of the rest.

By Cathy Patterson-Sterling, MA, RCC
Director of Family Services
Sunshine Coast Health Center

Cathy points out that just as addicts have cravings, family members can have emotional triggers. These emotional triggers can lead to emotional overwhelm and hinder personal growth.