A Happy Family

How to Cope with a Loved One's Addictions

>> Jun 3, 2015

Most of us, at some point or another, will be affected by substance abuse or addiction. Whether it's our own struggle with addictive substances, or that of a friend or loved one, dealing with addiction is never easy. Watching a close friend or family member face the perils of addiction can be especially challenging, as it often leads to feelings of anger, helplessness and guilt.

However, loving and supporting a loved one throughout addiction and the recovery process doesn't have to be so difficult. Keep reading to find out how.

image:pixshark.com

Getting a Loved One into Treatment

For a loved one struggling with addiction, treatment can mean the difference between life and death. If you spot the signs of addiction in a friend or loved one, take the following steps in suggesting treatment:

Arm yourself with information. Before encouraging a loved one to seek treatment, gather information that may help them in their decision to enter recovery. You could, for example, research different rehab facilities so that your loved one has some options.
Don't plan an ambush. While interventions are often necessary, a one-on-one approach can be just as effective. An ambush can be overwhelming for everyone involved, and may lead to hostility and defensiveness. If other friends or family members want to help, have them do so on their own time or in other ways.
Prepare yourself, emotionally. Addiction is a touchy subject, and you should prepare yourself for denial, anger, resentment and other emotional reactions. Remember to stay calm, don't take it personally, and know that you're doing the right thing.
Show your support. Remind your friend or family member of your constant love and support. Offer to help them in any way possible while they seek life-saving treatment for substance abuse and addiction. For example, you could offer to help with childcare, housework, etc.

Supporting a Loved One through the Treatment Process

If your loved one decides to get professional help, know that your continued support is crucial to the recovery process. You should also know that, while the decision to seek treatment is the best possible outcome, showing your love and support throughout the recovery process won't always be easy. Thankfully, tips like the following can help:

Know what to expect. Addiction treatment, especially its early stages, can be overwhelming for patients and their loved ones, alike. Detox, for example, is a painful process, and is often associated with withdrawal symptoms and intense cravings for drugs or alcohol. Understandably, seeing a friend or family member go through this stage of recovery can be incredibly difficult, and can bring about feelings of intense empathy guilt. However, remember that detox is essential to recovery, and that it typically lasts only a short time. Also, you should prepare yourself for hurdles in the later stages of treatment, including those that deal with the psychological and emotional aspects of addiction.
Look into family counseling. Addiction can have an enormous impact on familial bonds and family dynamics. Factors like co-dependence, manipulation, enabling and deep-seated emotional issues often come into play, and objective, professional input can be invaluable to your family's recovery.
Take care of yourself. Supporting a loved one through addiction treatment can be incredibly difficult; in some cases, it can even be debilitating. However, self-care methods can help. Be sure to take time for yourself, get plenty of sleep and see to your own commitments and responsibilities. If you're feeling overwhelmed, depressed, or anxious, seek one-on-one counseling so that you can work through your own issues, and better help your family and loved ones.

Addiction doesn't just affect the addict. If someone you love is struggling with substance abuse or addiction, you know the impact this disease can have on family members and loved ones. Thankfully, though, the tips listed here can help you show your love and support, while also taking care of yourself and your family.

Sources:

http://www.1sthappyfamily.com/2011/10/getting-benefits-of-family-counseling.html

http://www.dualdiagnosis.org/guide-drug-detox/

http://www.bhevolution.org/public/family_support.page

http://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/treatment/what-to-do-if-your-adult-friend-or-loved-one-has-problem-drugs

How to Get Your Child into Modelling‏

>> Jun 1, 2015

Becoming a model requires a lot of work and dedication and if you want your child to become a successful professional model, you will have to start preparing him or her at a young age. Things like commercials and similar calls for child models often require children that are very young and photogenic and, in most cases, companies will work only with professional models. This means that you will have to make sure that your kid knows how to work with adult directors and that it has proper representation.

Starting Up

Starting up your kids modeling career can be a rather difficult and time-consuming task. While the need for this type of modeling is always present in various commercials for anything from local toy stores to national TV, the type of models needed are not easy to come by. The most efficient way to start up your kid’s career is to create a few simple photos. At this stage there really is no need to waste a lot of money on expensive photo shoots since your child will grow fast during these years and change a lot. By sending your kids photos to local modeling agencies you can start its career in a rather fast way.

image:creativecommons.org

Creating Background

If you are just starting up your kids career and you are not sure about how your kid will deal with all this, the best way to see if your kid really likes this is to get your kid involved in drama clubs or anything that helps them experience the stage. This will give your child some experience in working with directors, cameras and photo shoots. At the same time you will get some sense of just how much your kid fits in with the modeling scene. However, the opinions on the different beauty pageants are divided, so that choice is all up to you.

Modeling Agencies

Looking for a good modeling agency is extremely important and, in most cases the best way to spot bad ones or the ones that should be avoided is ruling out those that start asking for money from you in advance. Things like professional photo-shoots can cost a lot of money and require serious professionals. In most cases your child won’t need this until they get the specific job and even then this sort of thing will be done by the trained professionals that your kid’s employers pay and not the agency. If your agency starts asking for various payments or start presenting you contracts that come with a lot of middleman companies, avoid them.

Representatives

Getting a commercial agent and professional representative is a good choice for kids who start gaining some traction in the modeling industry. One of the most important things that your kids can do at a young age is various kid commercials which will enable your child to experience the industry and see if it is something that suits them. Various types of agents, both modeling ones and commercial can do a lot for your child in the term of presenting them to a large spectrum of modeling agencies. What they can’t do is promise you certain jobs and this is where you can often recognize useless agents. If they start promising you specific jobs or start asking money for individual auditions and calls, it’s time to change them.

Papers and Documents

Work permits and Coogan account are the basics of your child modeling career and you cannot do anything without these. Your child will need a work permit from your local state. No matter where you are, various modelling agencies in Melbourne, London, Milan, New York or any other place will have specific set of local rules that apply to your kid’s work permit. You have to get these things sorted out before you start doing anything and failing to get this sort of thing done can bring serious legal repercussions.

While starting up your child’s career in the modeling industry is everything but easy, it can be quite rewarding and expose your kid to some new experience and a lot of new different skills. While this is the sort of work that requires a lot of talent and effort from your kid, it will also require from you to get a lot of the work done as well. However, with all the hard work and the fame that comes with it, you have to be absolutely sure that your kid is OK with it and that it influences your kid only in the best way possible.

Decorative Hanging Umbrellas

My city –Bogor- is decorated to celebrate the city’s birthday (June 3^rd). The theme of this year is the umbrella festival. Many colorful umbrellas hung on the trees and road lamps along some main city streets and in the front of the city hall. I shared some blue umbrellas for Blue Monday. Unfortunately, my shots were less clear and sharp.