how to help someone with a drug addiction

Allow the person to learn how to gracefully reject tempting offers by themselves. And let them develop the ability to speak about their problems with substance use without shame. Your role in their support circle is to help them if they slip, as well as giving them love and encouragement. Being in a close relationship with someone who is actively using alcohol or other substances can be very challenging. But saying things like, “If you loved me, you’d quit,” is damaging behavior that almost never works. ” Remind them often that you are willing to be their recovery support.

how to help someone with a drug addiction

Someone who thinks they may need support for codependency can find it in a program such as Co-dependents Anonymous. Individual situations may range from codependency to abuse or violence. Mental health and wellness tips, our latest guides, resources, and ecso arrests man reportedly driving stolen car say drugs found in vehicle more. They appear high more often, for example, and take more days away from work or school to compensate. Their work performance or school grades suffer, they neglect their responsibilities at home, and encounter more and more relationship difficulties.

Don’t attempt to lock the doors or block their exit if the meeting doesn’t go well. They should be able to leave if they aren’t prepared to participate in the intervention. Organize a time when friends, family, and other concerned parties can gather together. Everyone present should have enough time to communicate his or her thoughts and feelings. A successful intervention must be planned carefully to work as planned.

The process of organizing the intervention and the intervention itself can cause conflict, anger and resentment, even among family and friends who know your loved one needs their help. An intervention team usually includes 4 to 6 people who are important in your loved one’s life — people your loved one likes, respects or depends on. This may include, for example, a best friend, adult relatives or a member of your loved one’s faith community. Your intervention professional can help you figure out who should be on your team. It’s important to remember that no one expects to get addicted. Forcing someone to admit to a problem is not the wisest way to encourage someone to stop using the problematic substance or behavior.

Staging an intervention

When a person is addicted, they prioritize using the drug or drugs over their wellbeing. This can have severe consequences, including increased tolerance to the substance, withdrawal effects (different for each drug), and social problems. Find a time when you can be alone together and free of distractions or interruptions. Tell them that you’re concerned about their behavior and ask if they’re open to hearing your thoughts. Try to use non-blaming language and avoid raising your voice or getting angry. They will likely respond better if you communicate from a place of compassionate concern.

how to help someone with a drug addiction

Instead, the goal is to quietly remove the many psychological barriers that keep a person from taking steps to overcome addiction. Because addiction can affect so many aspects of a person’s life, treatment should address the needs of the whole person to be successful. Counselors may select from a menu of services that meet the specific medical, mental, social, occupational, family, and legal needs of their patients to help in their recovery. Medications are also available to help treat addiction to alcohol and nicotine. Relapse rates for drug use are similar to rates for other chronic medical illnesses.

Substance Use Helpline

Heavy drug users often lose interest in old hobbies, lack energy, and become more moody, withdrawn, and sad. They may even neglect their appearance and personal hygiene, and suffer withdrawal symptoms if deprived of their drug of choice. Bear in mind that setting boundaries such as “I can no longer give you money if you continue to use drugs,” is not the same as threatening medications and drugs that cause hair loss a person with punishment. Coping with withdrawal may require hospitalization or inpatient care to ensure adequate supervision and medical intervention as necessary. This isn’t always the case, though, because different drugs have different withdrawal symptoms. The severity of use also plays a role, so knowing what to expect—and when to seek emergency help—is important.

Drug addiction, or substance use disorder (SUD), is when someone continues using a drug despite harmful consequences to their daily functioning, relationships, or health. Using drugs can change brain structure and functioning, particularly in areas involved in reward, stress, and self-control. These changes make it harder for people to stop using even when they really want to. In the meantime, establish boundaries of acceptable behavior and consequences of unacceptable behavior inside the family. Educate yourself about addiction, how it changes people, and what treatment possibilities exist. Therapy for yourself can not only keep you sane and available to everyone else in the family but also provide guidance for helping your loved one.

  1. Starting a conversation with someone about their drug addiction is never easy, but it’s important you come from a place of compassion and understanding.
  2. Living with someone who has an addiction can be hard for everyone involved.
  3. With these guidelines, you can learn to support your loved one’s efforts, set the necessary boundaries to preserve your own health and welfare, and find some stability for both yourself and your loved one.
  4. Both disrupt the typical, healthy functioning of an organ in the body, having severe harmful effects and can lead to death.
  5. Alcohol use disorder also frequently manifests in problems of remembering or thinking.

Obviously, frequently appearing intoxicated should set off alarms. Drinking that starts early in the day or before social functions is a warning sign, as is hiding one’s drinking. Failing to meet obligations or sleeping through appointments is another serious sign, and such lapses may have repercussions such as problems at work or school.

Going through detox is a crucial step in recovery, and it’s these first few weeks that are arguably most critical because they are when the risk of relapse is highest. Too often, efforts to help one troubled member of the family consume all the oxygen in the home. It’s challenging—but necessary for everyone’s well-being—to maintain family functions and routines as much as possible. It can also be helpful to explain to others in the household, in an age-appropriate way not overloaded with detail, that Dad or Sis is struggling with a problem. Long-term treatment and recovery will last for months or even years.

Expect Difficulties

When a loved one is addicted, boundaries can help us avoid the chaos of addiction and maintain our sanity. The methamphetamine expert provides unique insights about substance use, substance use disorders, racism, and racial disparities. Ultimatums are not only alienating, they are no match for drug craving, an immediate, powerful force to continue use. Most often they are heard as hollow threats spoken in momentary anger, an expression of frustration. Different types of medications may be useful at different stages of treatment to help a patient stop abusing drugs, stay in treatment, and avoid relapse. It can take time to trust a loved one again, especially if they’ve lied, exhibited harmful behaviors, or stolen from you.

Establishing financial boundaries

Getting angry or making emotional appeals will likely only add to the user’s feelings of guilt and reinforce their compulsion to use. BetterHelp is an online therapy service that matches you to licensed, accredited therapists who can help with depression, anxiety, relationships, and more. Take the assessment and get matched with a therapist in as little as 48 hours. You may not be able to eliminate every trigger, but in the early stages of recovery it’s best to avoid triggers to help prevent cravings and relapse.

For another, it could mean cutting back or staying mostly drug-free. Being too rigid in your expectations can lead to disappointment and a sense of failure, even if your loved one finds stability in their life again. Your loved one may run up credit card debt to support their drug use, seek loans, or ask to borrow money without any solid reason. New health issues, such as changes in sleep schedule, often appearing fatigued or run-down, pronounced weight loss or weight gain, glassy or bloodshot eyes, and forgetfulness or other cognition problems.

This may include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), in which the patient learns to recognize problematic thinking, behaviors, and patterns and establish healthier ways of coping. CBT can help someone 2c drug effects of 2c develop stronger self-control and more effective coping strategies. Easily adapted for everyday use, it’s an approach that respects a person’s struggles while inspiring them to make a change.