Tag Archives: Addiction

Is It Possible To Help A Drug Addict That Doesn’t Want Help?

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How can you best help a struggling addict or alcoholic? There are a number of things that you can do.

First, help yourself. This is an important first step for you. Often times, we are in a close relationship with a struggling addict, and living through this tough situation will wear you down. So the first step is to get some help yourself. The best place to do this is at an Al-Anon meeting. The people there know exactly what you are going through and can give you “expert” advice on how to best deal with the struggling addict in your life.

Learn about addiction.This is a critical step in your journey if you are to help an addict to find recovery. Understanding the disease model of addiction will be helpful in dealing both with the addict, as well as to guide some of your own behavior towards them. A great place to learn about addiction and alcoholism is, again, at Al-anon meetings.

Setting boundaries and limits. Another important tool in helping a struggling addict or alcoholic is to set boundaries. This is important for both your sanity as well as their recovery. First, you have to decide what is and what is not acceptable behavior on their part. For example, if they go to jail for drunk driving, is that acceptable to you? If not, then tell them, and let them know how you will react. (“I will not bail you out of jail any more.”). Do not make idle threats here; state your meaning and think things through and be very specific. Let them know that you are going to live outside of their madness and chaos.

Organize a formal intervention. If things continue to get worse, and nothing seems to help, then you might consider organizing a formal intervention. This is basically where you round up all of the family and friends of the struggling addict and confront him as a group and urge them to take some action (such as quit using or go to treatment). The details of planning an intervention are outside the scope of this article, but there is help available if you decide to go this route.

Confront Underlying Conflicts to Overcome an Addiction

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Help for addiction is commonly acquired from numerous public and private rehab centers. These facilities are geared towards providing patients with the needed medical assistance, counseling, and other rehab services that will aid them to kick out their habit. However, even if the addict is enrolled in the most comprehensive and advanced rehab facility, the treatments they are receiving will be put to waste if in the end they will just go crawling back to where they have started.

Enrolling in addiction treatment facilities does not guarantee that you will be free of addiction for good. They just basically help the addict to build a good starting foundation for their new life. Therefore, at the end of the day, everything is still up to them. That being said, it is essential that the addict learns to acknowledge the problem before they enter the facility to increase the chances of preventing relapse.

On that note, you have to thoroughly evaluate yourself to find clarity and truth. Begin by re-assessing the events that have led you to the addiction. Think about the issues that you have deeply suppressed in order to find out the main cause of the problem. Try to focus on the true nature of your personal conflicts that might have triggered you to use drugs or to consume alcohol. Remember that you won’t be able to solve anything until you become ready to face the emotions that you have put away for a long time.

Once those emotions have resurfaced, you have to confront. This is vital to eliminate the shame, guilt, and resentment that you feel towards yourself. Often times, addiction is the product of self-destructive behaviors, debilitating emotions, and dire thoughts of the addict. Therefore, it is really a must to clean out the skeletons in your closet so it will be easier for you to face the truth. And then accept the fact that you messed up and you are now willing to change for the better. These simple acts will not only allow you to make amends for your mistakes but will also let you become a better person. Even if you have resolved some personal issues, you still need to seek help for addiction from reputable rehab centers so you will be prepared for the life-long process of addiction recovery!