Addiction is never natural for the person involved or for everyone in their life. If your loved one is struggling with addiction, the process of getting them the help they need might feel complicated. Sometimes you may want to sweep it under the rug and hope for the best. Unfortunately, as uneasy as it may feel, the best option is to tackle these matters head-on. The quickest way for them to understand their situation and get the help they need is to have a support group pushing them in that direction. The ones who get help only after they hit “rock-bottom” are usually the ones without emotional support.
What is Drug Addiction?
Addiction is diverse. It can be hard to classify a definition for addiction because of the variety of substances and addiction conditions. An excellent place to start is the difference between “abuse” and “dependence.” These two terms are at times mistakenly interchanged but knowing the difference will help you understand the variance of addiction. Dependence: Dependence happens when an individual is unable to stop using the substance. Physical dependence occurs when a person starts to feel withdrawals when consumption ceases and thus continues to use to alleviate these symptoms. A typical withdrawal will begin with shakiness, irritability, headaches, sweatiness, anxiety. Some substances like alcohol and benzodiazepines can lead to severe symptoms like seizures or heart palpitations. Psychological dependence (like in the instance of marijuana) is when a person does not want to stop because they enjoy the feeling of being high. A person might have a psychological dependence on alcohol because it helps them cope with their depression - but over time this can also lead to physical dependence. Abuse: Abuse is when the substance creates harmful consequences. This could be the decline of school or job performance, loss of relationships, law infractions, or overall bad decisions.
Symptoms of Drug Abuse
Different drugs will have their own specific symptoms, so it is essential to continue to educate yourself on particular symptoms, but overall there are general signs your loved one may be abusing drugs or alcohol. Signs of abuse can be both physical and behavioral.
- Mood swings
- Sudden changes in behavior
- Neglect of normal activities (family, hobbies, work, school)
- Lack of energy or motivation
- Red or glassy eyes
- Complications at school or work
- Sleep pattern change
- Lack of personal grooming
- Sudden requests for money or increase in financial spending
- Changes in friends or activities
It is important to know many of these symptoms can also be symptoms of mental disorders like depression. Either way, these symptoms can be enough to know your loved one may need help of some kind.
How to Help Someone with a Drug or Alcohol Addiction
If you have assessed your loved one may have a problem, it can be hard to know what to do. Confronting them about their abuse can be a delicate matter. If you need help with approaching the subject properly and safely - this article can help. You can effectively help your loved one obtain help and get them back to a normal life if you follow the general guidelines below.
Educate yourself about Addiction and Help Required
Do exactly what you are doing now: learning the appropriate ways to help. Addiction is a complex disease and can be tricky when talking to your loved one; educating yourself will be extremely beneficial for both you and your loved one and makes the entire process easier. If there is one thing most people should know is that addiction is a disease and should be treated like any other. Due to their actions, it can be easy to criticize, but approaching the subject with tranquility and compassion will yield the best results.
Offer Support
Loving and caring support is vital for an individual to feel safe and comfortable. By creating a resource of understanding, obtaining help will feel more comfortable to them. Talk to them about your concerns - it is not necessary for them to hit rock bottom for them to seek help. If they become aware of the effects of their actions it can be enough. Let them know you are going to support them on their journey through recovery no matter what. While emotional support is healthy and beneficial, any other type of support can constitute as enabling. Tough love is hard sometimes but often needed. Often addiction can lead individuals into troubled situations - but assisting them out of these circumstances by providing them with financial or housing assistance can prolong their dependence. Because of this support, they fail to realize the full consequences of their actions.
Encourage them to Get Help
Through love and encouraging support, try to assist them in getting help. Many times you will face resistance. This can be because of many reasons: stigma around treatment usually involves the thought that acceptance into treatment is an admittance of failure or weakness of willpower. This process will take time but start slow; show them you care for them and will help them when they are ready. Be persistent but be careful not to force the decision - very rarely is treatment successful when the individual is forced into it; they need to go on their own free will. If overtime loving support does not seem to be enough for your loved one to seek help, you might want to try resorting to an intervention. Interventions are not meant to guilt the individual, but show them how many people care and are concerned for them. This can be enough to show how much their actions are affecting themselves and others.
Support Recovery as an Ongoing Process
Try to maintain active involvement in the process once your loved one decides to enter treatment. They will have support inside of treatment, but it is also essential to provide outside support and encouragement throughout the process. Support can be as simple as communicating during treatment, attending family therapy sessions, and attending support meeting together.
Things to Avoid
When talking to a loved one about getting treatment for their addiction, here are some things to avoid:
- Preaching, lecturing, threatening or moralizing your loved one
- Emotional remarks that may increase the feelings of guilt
- Lying or making excuses for their behavior
- Enabling: Taking over their responsibilities, covering up the abuse, or giving them money Doing this protects them from the consequences of their actions.
- Talking or arguing to your loved one when they’re using drugs. During this time, your loved one won’t be able to hold a rational conversation and likely won’t be open to what you have to say.
- Feeling guilty or responsible for their behavior. It’s not your fault.
You are already taking the right steps by educating yourself. Just remember to be supportive and loving. Say things like “I love you, and I will always be here for you no matter what happens.” When they are ready to seek help, you can be their support line to get their life back. The process can take time so be patient. If you need additional assistance or resources, call Coalition Recovery today (888) 707-2873, and a representative will be more than happy to guide you through this process. If you feel that your loved one is abusing drugs, the best thing you can do is to encourage them to seek treatment for their addiction. Be loving and supportive, but also know that they’re going to make excuses for their behavior. Be firm in what you want, and keep encouraging them to get help without criticism.