When someone you love is struggling with addiction it can help to have a step by step plan to deal with their behaviour and address their needs.
Drug addiction can often feel like a “family illness”. It does not just affect the person taking drugs and in need of rehab on their own. We have increasingly seen family members suffer as much, or even more so than the drug addicts themselves. Here are some tips on how to help a loved one with an addiction.
It can be heartbreaking for families of addicts to witness what drug abuse has done to them, which is why family members encourage addicts to go into rehab. They have seen first-hand the dreadful cost of drug addiction, watching their loved ones fall into a downward spiral.
Users have seen their relationships and careers fall apart, and their lives unravel, mostly oblivious to the self-destructive path they find themselves on. Unfortunately, the toll drug addiction has taken can be all too clear to their loved ones, and we have seen it up close. This is partly why we are committed to providing reliable drug rehab therapy to combat addiction. So, drug users can return to their families and start a new life free of dependency.
However, as a family member of a person fighting drug abuse in need of rehab, you don’t have to stand by. You can take control, seize responsibility and help your loved one break free from addiction.
We don’t have to tell you that the first and possibly the most important part of assisting a family member through drug dependency is to be understanding. It can be painful, but families observe a change in character in people living with drug addiction. We have seen it time and time again as part of rehab therapy.
Your family member may display bizarre and unusual behaviour that is uncharacteristic of the person you know and love. It can be a shocking or disturbing sight, and you may feel like there is nothing you can do.
The first way of dealing with a family member requiring rehab for drug dependency is to separate the behaviour from the person. Understand that the way they’re acting is not who they really are.
It is a by-product of the drugs they are taking as a coping mechanism to deal with life’s problems and escape their issues. They believe using drugs will take the pain away and make them feel better. Users want to repeat that feeling and come to rely on the drugs, resulting in the need for rehab.
You feel you have lost your loved one to drug abuse, but the person you know is still there, hidden under layers of drug-fuelled behaviour. They can be aggressive, irritable, experience mood swings and lash out. However, understanding that these actions are symptoms of their condition can lead to forgiveness. It allows you to put the past behind you and move on as you support your family member during rehab for drug abuse.
The second way to help a loved one break free from addiction is by resetting boundaries and expectations. People with a dependency can say and do damaging things which hurt their families, but verbal insults, aggression and physical outbursts should never be accepted. Tough love can play an integral role in rehab. It can be difficult, but setting boundaries and keeping them can be crucial when treating drug dependency with rehab therapy.
The third way to help a loved one break free from addiction can be tricky when you want to help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. It is a common scenario in drug rehab, as is denial, where the person battling drug dependency is convinced they have everything under control and doesn’t need any assistance.
However, the facts are undeniable. Your loved one needs rehab and, in some cases, may require an intervention where friends and family gather together and show them how drug abuse is wrecking their lives. You can help them acknowledge they have a problem, accept responsibility and take decisive action, such as entering rehab. An intervention requires a delicate balance between being caring and supportive and pointing out, in the starkest terms, the consequences of failing to act. This can be the catalyst which convinces you to face up to drug addiction and go into rehab.
We have access to the leading interventionists in the UK, who have made numerous TV appearances. Interventions are available from professional addiction specialists, providing the assistance you need to help a loved one fighting drug addiction by way of rehab.
The fourth way to help a loved one break free from addiction is to get in touch with us. We are affiliated with some of the most accomplished rehab clinics in the country to aid your loved one in their recovery from drug dependency. We can point them in the right direction, ensuring they receive the rehab they need. But we also offer a shoulder to the families of users, who will be going through the fight along with them.
Would An Intervention Help My Loved One?
We understand through their strength and support that users can free themselves from drug addiction once and for all.
Please connect with us on 02072052845.