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Sallie’s Big Scare

BALM | April 12, 2014

“Okay,” she said. “I give up. The way i was acting before made me feel less afraid, but it didn’t help Mellissa. What do you suggest?”

I could hear and feel Millie and Tom breathe out and the tension left the call.

Once a family unites in their understanding that together they CAN be their loved one’s best chance at recovery, a big hurdle is overcome. There is still no guarantee of success in getting a loved one sober, but their concerted efforts give their loved one a much better chance of making better decisions once the enablers have learned what it means to REALLY help a loved one.

Our next step was to develop a plan. We brought Melissa’s recovery coach on the phone and began work on next steps.

Within two weeks, Melissa was  in a sober living environment again, working on her recovery.

Getting a family on board can take time and effort. Sometimes this happens as a unit, more often, family members come around one or two people at a time.

We do this in FRR through coaching and through The Daily BALM®. Many of our clients take advantage of both class and coaching. And bring their family members into the program with them over time.

For instance, when a person signs up for coaching, they can use some of the sessions in their package for family or group sessions or for other individual family members. And as for the Daily BALM®, our comprehensive family recovery education program, when a family member signs up, they get 5 access passes total. They share these with their family members, who have the opportunity to attend live calls, listen to recordings on topics of interest, and have a complimentary consult to ask questions and get coached themselves.

Now that Melissa was back in recovery mode, the family members were able to focus on themselves again. Until Sallie reminded them, “I need help with Dan.”

Indeed, Sallie’s husband was getting sicker and sicker from his drinking and she didn’t know what to do. And then it happened…

You may have missed parts of Sallie or Melissa’s story. If you’d like to read more about Melissa, her family members and the tips I mentioned earlier, you can go to the upper right hand side of this page and add your best email address to receive a free guide to being in relationship with a loved one who is dealing with addiction. It tells you a bit more about “Being a Loving Mirror”. You’ll also be able to follow stories like Millie’s through regular emails delivered to your inbox. One more thing… Do you know a Millie, a Tom, or a Melissa? Share these stories with them.