Support Groups for People Affected by Addiction

If you’ve been affected by addiction, it’s important to find a support group. 

You don’t need to complete treatment to find support. Your loved one doesn’t need to be in recovery, either. Even and especially when someone is trapped within active addiction, other people can understand and relate to your experience, and they can provide a great deal of comfort, peace and stability. 

Here we list a few support groups—for the person who struggles with addiction and their loved ones—and explain how they help.

How does attending a support group help me in my recovery?

Refusing help isn’t a sign of strength—it’s an omen of self-destruction.  Maybe you disagree with that statement for the time being. That’s okay. In due time, you’ll learn to trust others and lean on them during times of need.

How do you get there? At first, you only need to show up. Strangers and soon-to-be friends will show you unconditional kindness. They will nod in agreement and empathize with your experience, having lived it themselves. They will mourn and cry with you, and they will give you honest feedback that’s rooted in their own experiences. A wonderful group of people will know and accept you, and they will understand the madness of your addiction unlike anyone else.

Support groups help you in so many ways, giving you:

• The hope and belief that you, too, can build a life of recovery
• Friendship and solidarity in good times and bad
• Understanding and acceptance of your disease
• The wisdom of others’ experiences
• Structure in your daily life and recovery

More than that, support groups lay the groundwork for those in early and middle recovery. Without putting your trust in others, without seeking outside opinion and support, you’re likely to rely on old ways of doing things, which, as the saying goes, got you here in the first place.