Addiction is dangerous and the one that holds a tight grip over it self-destructs in real-time. People involved in an addiction grow to give preference to their cravings over everything else in life, to the detriment of personal relationships, jobs, and a great deal of other things. Luckily, support from loved ones may be more than enough to break someone out of a rut, so keep reading to find out how you can do that for the person you’re concerned about.
Understand how addiction works.
Before you begin helping a loved one who’s going through some form of addiction, it’s integral to understand the effects that addiction has on a person’s life. Most people aren’t looking to get hooked on substances or alcohol, but there are a variety of factors that cause that to happen, ranging from being around negative influences, such as people who bend or break the rules and encourage those around them to try drugs or drink excessively, or something as minor as boredom and wanting to shake things up.
In many cases, initial exposure to a drug is enough to start a years-long struggle with addiction, as many people may not feel dependent on a substance but are still interested in trying it again now and then because they miss the feeling. This quickly descends into a spiraling addiction thanks to the onset of withdrawal whenever the person isn’t using, and this need becomes so pathologic that everything else in that person’s life fades in importance, including jobs, responsibilities, and personal relationships, which is why they may lash out at others that try to help, and you may feel that you’ve faded in importance in their lives.
Plan an intervention for your loved one.
The main tool used to help people who are struggling with addiction is to plan an intervention with the help of the people that that person holds most dear, including family members, partners, and close friends. People that are in the grips of an addiction usually aren’t lucid enough to be aware of their actions or how those actions are affecting the people that they love, and it takes a structured, planned out intervention to be able to reach them and to hope for a change.
The intervention should be at a place they’re comfortable in, such as their home or a friend’s house, and it should be a quiet, judgment-free zone. Here, you and all other participants should speak one at a time about particular incidents during which their addiction negatively affected your lives or your relationship in some way and how you’ve had to look past it. This will allow for some serious self reflection, and, hopefully, major change in the life of the person you’re trying to reach.
Check them into rehab and support them after they’re done.
For a long-term action plan against addiction, you should consider admitting them into a respected alcohol rehab in Mississippi for professional help . Rehab establishes a few important things: how important it is to stay away from triggers, how integral a support network is, how disciplined you’ll need to be, and, above all, the professionals there help with withdrawal symptoms, too, which is one of the main reasons people are unable to quit. Once they’re done with their treatment, you still may need to be there for them through relapses and difficult periods until they’re free of their addiction for good.
Conclusion
Addiction clouds the brain and makes people unable to understand other people’s point of view, as well as how their actions are affecting others. Once addiction grows and becomes worse, the only important thing in the addict’s mind is how to satisfy their urges or keep off withdrawal symptoms, and they won’t be able to focus on anything else. However, support from you and other loved ones that have always been by that person’s side is a great tool in the struggle against addiction, and always gives some sort of benefit. Using the information in this article, you may be able to help your friend or family member through whatever they’re going through so that they can make the necessary changes on their own.
