Truthfully, life is unpredictable. Your friend might have taken drugs to test and experiment but ended up becoming an addict. Likewise, some people only drink in stressful situations without realizing it has become a habit. Have you witnessed anyone go through something similar? If so, you would know how distressing it is to see someone you care about battle addiction. It not only requires a lot of patience but can leave you racked by feelings of frustration and sadness.
In addition, you would tend to worry about your loved one’s risk of overdosing and the damage to their health. It might be arduous to help people suffering from addiction but not impossible. The first thing you have to understand is that the road to recovery from addiction won’t be easy. It would require persistence, consistency, and heaps of patience. Similarly, not every situation will have clear answers. It means you will have to make hard choices.
Moreover, you have to establish a relationship of trust with your friend, spouse, or any loved one struggling with addiction. After all, recovering from addiction is a gradual process. If you want to learn more about this, have a look below. Here you will find five ways to help someone struggling with addiction.
1. Educate Yourself
You have heard a billion things about drug addicts and their behavior. Surprisingly, half of that information tends to be false because, in reality, things are much different. Therefore, educate yourself about symptoms of drug abuse and how addicts behave. It will help to recognize signs and deal with them efficiently. Besides this, you have to familiarize yourself with addiction support programs and how they help addicts.
You can learn about different techniques such as behavioral analysis, psychometrics, etc. Knowing this will allow you to pick a recovery plan that is most suitable for your loved one. Taking time to understand your loved one’s problem will help you become more aware of their needs. In turn, you can also think of more ways to help them get rid of addiction.
2. Expect Difficulties
Unsurprisingly, helping someone overcome addiction is difficult. Thus, prepare yourself to deal with difficulties and challenging situations. Sometimes, your loved one may not agree they have a problem. Similarly, they might not want to change what they are doing. In certain situations, addicts fear consequences so much that they don’t want to try. You might give up after seeing this attitude but remember, overcoming the addiction requires much effort.
You have to calmly make the person understand the damage addiction is doing to their health. After that, explain how they can overcome this. If the addicted person is being stubborn, avoid persuading them. Instead, you have to find an approach that works and helps them cope gradually.
3. Establish Trust
Establishing trust both ways is primary when helping someone with an addiction. For that, you have to avoid nagging, lecturing, and name-calling addict. Instead, show your loved ones you have their back even when they are not at their best behavior. Likewise, make sure your loved one doesn’t think you are trying to control them. You have to keep your tone subtle and engage in friendly conversations.
Moreover, keep your loved one out of stressful situations since they trigger addictive behavior. You have to maintain a calm environment to ensure the other person feels comfortable. Remember, you may establish trust if you stop criticizing or lecturing the other person.
4. Communicate with Your Loved One
Usually, communication becomes a barrier when someone is suffering from addiction, which can make things worse. You have to let the other person know how you feel about their addiction and what issues has it caused. You can talk about the consequences it can have in the long-term on their health and social life. Although deciding to overcome the addiction and change is up to them, putting your point across would make a difference.
Apart from this, you can share others’ success stories of overcoming the addiction with your loved one. It would give them a new ray of hope and motivation to give it a shot. These small gestures can make a huge difference, just keep trying and don’t give up.
5. Explore Treatment Options
Depending on the nature of addiction, you have to explore different treatment options. It will help you pick the one that can help your loved one overcome the addiction. A few options include;
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): It would help your loved ones understand how their thoughts and feelings affect behaviors. It will help them change the thought and behavioral pattern that leads to the addiction.
- Medications: Medicines like Vivitrol and Suboxone can be highly effective in treating alcohol dependence and substance abuse. However, make sure they consult a doctor before taking any prescription medication.
- Support Groups: Peer support can be helpful during the recovery process. They promote sobriety and take different approaches to avoid withdrawal symptoms.
Final Thoughts
Having a friend or family member with an addiction can be challenging. Even though they try to overcome the addiction, getting out seems impossible. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to support your loved one. You can communicate with them, explain the consequences, and talk about recovery options. Support your loved ones during treatment will keep them motivated and help them succeed.