Drug and alcohol abuse doesn’t just affect an addict’s health and wellbeing, it has widespread repercussions that impact all who are close to them. Children are some of the hardest hit by addiction. Children of addicts risk losing their parents to jail, being removed and put in alternative care, and having a stigma associated with them that is hard to shake. These issues in early youth can affect children as they grow and be a negative factor in their mental health in adulthood.
A Bad Day In The Life Of Addicted Parents
You wake up, start drinking or take that handful of pills like you do every morning. Some mornings it is business as usual and you are able to go through the routine of getting your kids ready and off to school. Other days you wake up in a haze or you just can’t keep it together. School officials see the inconsistencies in your children’s attendance and they also notice behavioral problems with them.
You are on the radar. Then there’s that day where you overdo it and before you know it, you are being seen by medics in an ambulance. It is hard to remember the full day, but when you come to, and you realize your children have been removed by Child Protective Services (CPS). If you don’t have a family that can take them, they may go into foster care.
This scenario is very common in the United States. In 2006, a study was done that found that when parents had a substance abuse problem, there was a strong correlation for their children being taken away. The struggle for parents who once lost their children to get them back is not an easy task. There are situations where children are placed permanently with a family, or they are put up for adoption and a family takes them in as their own. These are situations that make the prospects for a recovering parent to obtain their children hopeless and pretty much an impossibility.
The sadness, anger, and depression that follow losing custody of your children is inevitable. If your children are not in a permanent placement situation, it is up to you to fight to get healthy and prove that you deserve to have them back if you want to have your family reunited. Some of the steps you must take to increase your chances of regaining custody include:
- Speaking with a child custody lawyer.
- Enter a rehabilitation program like the medical detox and addiction alternative treatment center at Discovery Place in Tennessee.
- Listen to all court recommendations and follow through immediately.
- Rebuild relationships between your family and friends.
- Seek counseling and support of groups who will keep you on the right path.
- Stay away from old habits, triggers, and bad influences.
Finding Treatment In Tennessee
The best thing you can do for yourself and your family is to seek treatment at a well-respected facility like Discovery Place’s Tennessee addiction alternative treatment center. Located in the calming countryside of Tennessee, you will have plenty of support and resources to ensure you can get clean and keep yourself in good shape to fight for regaining your children.
Call our Tennessee detox alternative treatment center any time at 1-800-725-0922.
