Addiction is a scary and confusing subject. It’s hard to face not just for the person that is addicted, but also for her friends and family. They might have seen a drastic change in the addict. She’s losing an unhealthy amount of weight and is becoming distant. Sometimes an addict in this position will realize that she has a problem and seek help on her own. She’ll know that what started out as “just a few drinks” or “curiosity” about what cocaine was like has now turned into a full-blown addiction.
When the addict comes to this realization by herself and has the strength to face it, the work of finding a rehab and getting the addict started on the program can be fairly straightforward. The problem is that for many addicts, it is rarely this simple.
Dealing with Denial
For many addicts, the first obstacle to overcome is simply facing the fact that the drug use has reached the level of actually being an addiction. Drug addicts and alcoholics are very good at convincing themselves that they don’t actually have a problem, even when everyone around them knows it. This is because drug addicts don’t have the luxury of being honest with themselves. If they really faced how destructive they were being to their own bodies and minds, it could crush them. Instead, they have to justify their behavior and come up with excuses for why it’s okay.
The first step toward helping a drug addict or alcoholic, then, is getting them through their denial. One way of doing this is simply trying to reason with the addict. Explain what you’re worried about and what you’ve observed. If you have caught the addict early enough if her drug problem, she might be able to listen to you and make the decision to stop. If the addiction has gone on too long, however, nothing you can say will be able to make her stop. You won’t be able to get through the armor of denial that has already been forged. Instead, you may have to consider an intervention.
When an Intervention is Warranted
When reasoning with an addict won’t be enough, you need to try something else to have an impact on an addict. In many cases, this may mean holding an intervention to get your point across. An intervention, in its simplest terms, is a meeting held by the friends, family and even the co-workers of an addict to help her realize the severity of what she’s doing.
Surveying these family members and friends can help you decide if an intervention is warranted. Many of them might also be concerned. Some of them might have already talked to the addict in an effort to get her to change. If they agree that nothing else is working, it’s probably time for an intervention.
Organizing an Intervention
Interventions are planned ahead of time so that they don’t devolve into hurtful name-calling and accusations. The group should decide who is going to lead the intervention and how many people will be present (you don’t want to overwhelm the person, after all.) Any good intervention plan will have the goal of immediately getting the addict into a residential rehab program. It’s not good enough to have the addict simply promise that she’ll get help. Instead, you should already have the program picked out and a reservation made. If your loved one is serious about making a change, she will let you help her re-organize her life so that she can get started on the program now.
Reference:
Recovery.org: Intervention Services and Interventionist Options http://www.recovery.org/topics/addiction-intervention/