Addiction comes in many forms: drinking alcohol, smoking, taking drugs and gaming are the commonly known ones. The NHS says that anything can become an addiction, including work, shopping and the internet.

Addictions start with how something makes you feel – both mentally and physically – followed by an urge to recreate that sensation again and again. Why it happens depends, but your situation can increase the likelihood of it occurring.

Get support

The victim won’t be the only one affected by their condition. To help your relative with their addiction, you’ll also need to get support for you and anyone else in your family who is impacted by it. This will assist you to cope with these difficult circumstances, which will then help you all to help the victim with their recovery.

There are so many different ways to get any kind of support for your family. There are helplines, organisations and local family support groups that will let you talk about how you feel, and to give you advice on what you can do for each other.

Educate yourself

Since addiction comes in different forms (and there are many different ways someone can overcome it), make sure you find out what you can about their condition and its effects. This will help you when it comes to treatment options, and to support your family member through the tough times.

Set boundaries

You may not realise it, but what you do may be enabling their addiction further, so have a set of rules for both you and the person suffering from the addiction to follow. Know what your limits are, tell your loved one what they are in a calm manner, and follow through with your decisions.

Find out about treatment options

When it comes to treatments, there’s no one-size-fits-all. What works for one person won’t always be the best option for another, even if they are battling the same problems. Your GP will be able to help you with what’s available to you and your family in your local area, and you can find out what other services are on offer. You may have found this out when you were first looking to getting support.

Therapy may be one of the options your loved one may wish to explore and can be suitable for children and adults. Plus, therapy can come in many different forms. It could be talking to a therapist one-on-one, going to a support group with people that have the same addiction, or even a residential programme. This isn’t just for adults, as it could be an effective treatment for younger people, too. Ignite Teen Treatment Las Vegas, for one, specialises in helping adolescents with mental health and addiction issues.

Even if your loved one may not yet be ready to get help, make sure they know you’ll be there for them when they want your support. Some days will be harder than others, but knowing there’s someone they can talk to – or will be there for them – will help on their road to recovery.