For those with family members or loved ones addicted to drugs or alcohol, it’s no secret how draining the beast of addiction can be on the entire family circle.

Concerned loved ones often rack their brains about how best to help. Devoted family members sometimes make countless sacrifices for the one lost in addiction. These painstaking efforts can result in the you, the helper, feeling used and abused financially, emotionally and even physically.

The person struggling with the addiction typically doesn’t fully realize, nor at least initially come to terms with the magnitude of impact their addictive actions and behaviors have on those desperately trying to help them.

If you've recently found yourself financially, emotional or physically exhausted after multiple failed attempts of helping your addicted loved one get healthy, this blog post was written with you in mind.

Maybe you feel as if no hope exists for his or her long term recovery. If so, know it’s never too late. A possibility always exists to recover from an alcohol or drug addiction, regardless how serious the addiction. That said, it’s extremely important for you, the helper, to fully understand the alcoholic/addict must choose to get clean and sober for themselves and not for anyone else. The relapse statistics skyrocket for persons who attempt to ditch drugs and alcohol when self-determination is all but absent from the healing equation.

Here are 9 tips to help you- help your loved one struggling with addiction.

1.) Learn Everything You Can About Addiction And Recovery- Knowledge equals power. The more you can learn about addiction the better. Scores of informative books have been written to aid loved ones of addicts and alcoholics.

Below is a short reading list, complete with links, compiled in an effort to support the journey of anyone with a family member or loved addicted to drugs or alcohol. If you’re not a reader, consider downloading the audio versions of these books instead. The cost is minimal and "listening" to books is currently all the rage. .

Everything Changes

Codependent No More

The Lost Years

Dark Wine Waters

Hope Street

Why Don’t They Just Quit?

2.) Seek Out Information And Support From Others- Get advice from professionals, visit with family members or friends of addicts/alcoholics, talk to people who are living in recovery. Any means of first hand information can be a positive source of support and information.

3.) Set Healthy Boundaries - Identifying and practicing healthy boundaries is important in all relationships. Maintaining a healthy relationship with someone in active addition is no exception.

Basic boundaries to set with your addicted loved which can aid in your own self-preservation include, but certainly aren't limited to;

*No drugs or alcohol in your home or presence.

*No drugs or alcohol using friends allowed in your home or presence.

*No money for any reason. Never hand over cash, credit card or check because doing