5 Steps to Take When an Addicted Loved One Asks for Help
5 Steps to Take When an Addicted Loved One Asks for Help
What often gets forgotten when considering drug and alcohol addiction is the family members, loved ones and friends of an addicted loved one. Most often, the biggest consideration and the most attention are put on the addict and not on the family members or loved ones. However, these persons are often more affected by addiction than anyone else.
One of the biggest struggles that the family members, loved ones, friends, co-workers, and associates of an addict struggle with is only knowing what to do with their addicted loved one. They struggle with this a lot, and not without good reason too. Being addicted to drugs and alcohol is hard for anyone who is afflicted, and for those who have to watch it occur.
- Nothing shows the devastating effects of drugs and alcohol like the sheer number of Americans who are in some way affected. It is not just those who are abusing drugs and alcohol, but the family members and loved ones who are also impacted by association. Studies show that about one out of every ten Americans is related to someone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, one out of every eight knows an addict, and one out of every five Americans has at some point in their life been adversely affected by somebody who was addicted.
- About fifteen million Americans have an alcohol problem of some kind. Whether they drink daily or binge, they still definitely have an alcohol problem that they have been struggling with for some time. For some, their alcohol use has resulted in a criminal arrest, termination from their job, or family disruption such as divorce or something similar to that, and other problems. It is important to realize that alcohol is a drug, it has always been a drug, and it always will be a drug too. In 2005 for example, 1.5 million Americans received treatment for alcohol addiction of one kind or another.
What to Do to Help an Addicted Loved One
- Be compassionate and understanding. Sit down with them and listen to everything that they have to say and be there for them as emotional support. Promise them that you will do your best to help them.
- Start looking into rehabilitation centers. Insist that your loved one goes to a rehab center. Makes sure that they pick a rehab center out that they are interested in, even if it means talking to multiple rehab centers first.
- Start arranging the person’s trip to rehab. Help them get their affairs in order and help them pack.
- While your loved one is in treatment, stay in contact with them, if the rehab allows it, and ensure that they are sticking with the program and that they are in it to win it.
- When your loved one comes out of rehab, set yourself and others up as the support network that your loved open needs to ensure that they will be able to maintain their sobriety and their recovery no matter what gets thrown in their path.
Beating Addiction is Possible
Drug and alcohol addiction is a difficult and trying thing to beat, but can be achieved. With the above advice, you can ensure that your addicted loved one makes it through to the end.
