In 2014, 21.5 million Americans struggled with addiction.
Addiction is a tricky disease, and you may not fully know how to help the person who is affected by it.
Don’t be an enabler. Offer your loved one constructive health advice to beat addiction. Learn here about staging an intervention that works.
Know When to Intervene
Knowing when you need to stage an intervention can be a helpful tool.
If you think your loved ones are suffering from addiction, watch out for these signs:
- Constantly asking or borrowing money
- Being secretive
- Being aggressive
- Lack of energy
- Losing interest in hobbies
- Isolation
- Skipping work or school
- Other symptoms such as anxiety, depression, or eating disorders
If you notice these symptoms combined with other unhealthy drug use habits, you may need to start staging an intervention.
Seek Professional Help
If you’ve never done an intervention before, you may want to see professional help to do it.
There are intervention specialists that you can ask to help you have a good intervention and have healthy communication. An intervention specialist may be a good idea because they know how to make an intervention work.
Ask Others to Help
If you can’t get professional help, you may want to have other friends or family be there to support you.
Sometimes having more than one person can help an addict realize that they really do have a problem, which is one of the first steps in helping them to deal with their addiction.
Educate Yourself
Before you have the intervention, you also want to make sure you at least know a little bit about what you’re doing and about addiction.
Research addiction and how to recover from it. Look up different rehabilitation centers to help the addict.
You can learn more here about addiction and recovery.
Pre-write Statements
It can be difficult to confront someone about their addiction issues, so it may be helpful to write down what you want to say beforehand.
The statements should be personal and help your loved one realize that you care about them and just want them to get better. Do not personally attack them, but also be honest.
Practice the Intervention
While you are pre-writing the statements, you should also practice the intervention.
If you have an intervention specialist, they will help you do this. You want to be kind and understanding rather than angry and aggressive.
The goal of an intervention is to show the addict how their actions are affecting their friends and families.
Set a Date, Time, and Place
Now that you are ready for an intervention, you should figure out when and where you’re going to have it.
You should choose a location that the addict feels safe in. Try to have the intervention at a time where they will be sober.
Establish Boundaries
In your intervention, you need to make it clear that you are setting boundaries.
If the person isn’t open and accepting to the intervention, you need to let them know that you’re not just going to let them get away with this with no change.
Let them know that there will be consequences from not changing, and make sure that everyone involved is on the same page about that.
After Staging an Intervention
After you are done staging an intervention, you may have two different outcomes. The addict will hopefully be receptive to change and want to go to rehab, but they may also be angry and still want to be in denial.
If they do want help and to find a center, check out this blog on how to help them do that.