14 Feb Ways to Help a Loved One Seek Rehab in 2019
Helping convince someone you care about to get professional help for a drug or alcohol addiction, especially when they are in denial about the extent of their disease, can feel like a daunting task. However, if you know someone whose self-destructive behavior is harming your life as much as it is theirs, quick and assertive action is essential to help a loved one seek rehab and recovery.
While you undoubtedly have plenty of motivation, it can be difficult to get people with substance misuse disorders to admit they have a problem and need to enter a treatment program. Here are our top five ways to help your loved one enter treatment for substance abuse in 2019.
1. Plan an Intervention
Deep denial is common among people with substance misuse disorders. If this is the case for your loved one, it might be time to consider an intervention. This is not something you want to do spontaneously, since only meticulously planned and executed interventions are successful. If you decide to go this route, a professional intervention specialist can play an essential role in helping you and your family stage an intervention and give your loved one some options for addiction treatment in the process.
2. Don’t Blame or Shame
The language you use is an integral part of successfully helping a loved one seek rehab. Avoid using “you” statements in favor of being honest about how their behavior makes you feel. In other words, use “I” statements such as, “I am very worried about you.” Never belittle or talk down to them. They likely already feel enough deeply internalized guilt without you making the situation worse.
3. Understand Their Point of View
Denial can make people argumentative and unreceptive. Your loved one might say you’re uninformed, or that you’re merely overreacting. The first thing you should do to counter this is to educate yourself about the disease of addiction, and what it’s like to be addicted. Communicating with someone with a substance misuse disorder can be challenging, but the most important thing you can do is to express how much you care and want to see them get the help they deserve.
4. Do Not Wait for Someone to “Hit Bottom”
Dramatic media depictions have given rise to the misconception that people only need to seek help after they reach a “rock-bottom” breaking point. The truth is that anyone who has been struggling with substance abuse for any length of time has probably experienced some unpleasant or even painful consequences of substance abuse. If you suspect your loved one has a problem with drug or alcohol abuse, don’t wait for some arbitrary milestone to get them the help they need.
5. Take the Fear out of Detox
Many people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs have tried to quit on their own, only to encounter uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms. When you suggest that they should seek addiction treatment, let them know that with medically supervised detox, they will have addiction specialists on hand to help minimize their withdrawal symptoms and take care of their physical and mental needs under 24-hour care.
Your Solution Starts Here
If you’re considering ways to help your loved one seek rehab, it might seem like an uphill battle. However, don’t give up on your goal. The longer you wait, the more devastating the consequences will become. If you are ready to help someone you care about achieve lifelong freedom from drug and alcohol misuse, a guided intervention is an excellent first step to help break through denial and allow your loved one to see their illness through the lens of how severely it affects others in their life.
If you’re ready to learn more about staging an intervention or need to speak to someone about getting help for your loved one, contact the Intervention 911 team. Our professional, qualified intervention specialists work to help people turn their lives around.
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