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How to Help a
Friend or Family Member Who's Addicted to
Drugs
Everyone around an addict knows
he or she needs help, but often
the addict can't see it. Many
die exactly that way. Our goal is
to
try to
provide the family with as much information as
possible
relating to the intervention process. If
at any time you would like
the advice of an
experienced
counselor, please give a Narconon® counselor a call at
208-878-2600 and they will assist you. |
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Very often,
an addicted person will know deep inside that he or she
needs help but be unable to break the cycle long enough
to receive the needed help. An example that is very
common is when an addict encounters some major problem
(e. g. arrested, kicked out of house, loses job
etc.) and at that point is completely willing to discuss
the addiction with loved ones. Unfortunately, if this
opportunity is not quickly siezed, the drug cravings and
overwhelming environment will force the individual back
into using and it will be some length of time before
he/she will encounter forces that again yield
cooperation towards rehabilitation efforts.
What is the Ruin of
the Addict?
The addict has things in his
or her past or present that seem like devastating events
and that have something to do with drugs. One example is
a person that has lost his best friends due to his
addiction. Another example is a person losing his wife
and child over drug abuse. A family member can look at
an addict's life and see hundreds of reasons why he/she
should quit using but unfortunately these reasons are
not REAL to the addict. There are, however, problems the
addict encounters that are real or significant in the
addict's life, which he/she sees as reasons to quit
using drugs. These are important to identify because
they can be used during the intervention to remind the
addict why he or she must seek help.
What Pressure Does the Addict Feel
Now?
The addict doesn't necessarily have
the same reality about their addiction that non-addicts
might. For instance, he or she may have semi-serious
health problems, no friends and no job or income but
feel like they are "doing okay". Many addicts have
actually overdosed on drugs coming very close to death
and are right back using drugs the very next day. This
may appear crazy but in fact is only part of the pain
for the addict.
With this in mind, the addict
from time to time will encounter added pressure, which
forces him/her to make an actual decision about whether
to seek help or continue to use. Pending legal charges
that could easily lead to jail time, threat of losing
spouse, pending loss of job, all are possible situations
where a person has enough pressure to fight the
addiction and seek help. Although any one in particular
may not work in your situation, there are pressures that
can come to bear which will help prod the addict into a
decision to seek help. It is easy to assume the addict
is "only seeking help to avoid jail" or some other
evaluation which in many cases is true. The fact remains
that an addict will only seek help when someone or
something pushes him out of his " addiction comfort
zone" and forces him into a decision. Addicts with
access to money, a place to live, people who agree with
their usage and no legal issues rarely seek help. They
"don't have a problem". This is very important to
understand and will be crucial in any attempt at
intervention.
Who
Should be There to Help?
One of the major
considerations involving intervention is selecting who
will be there. This matter should be well thought out
beforehand. The number of people there is less important
than who is there. If at all possible, the person in the
family whom the addict respects the most should be
there. This person is an opinion leader to the addict
and needs to be there fully supportive of getting the
person help and informed well about the actual agenda.
As many family members as possible
should be there as long as each and every one are
completely in agreement about the fact that the person
needs help and supportive of the general agenda. If
someone in the family is antagonistic against the addict
and is not capable of restraining themselves from
arguments and blame then you might consider leaving that
person out. Usually, the addict has many enemies and has
done wrong to most of the family but arguments and upset
will not benefit the cause of getting the addict to seek
treatment. In fact it will usually result in stopping
this from happening because the focus of attention gets
placed on the argument and not on the matter at hand.
The overall goal is to bring the
addict up to a point where he or she realizes there is a
problem and is willing to seek help. When this has been
achieved, be prepared to get them to treatment without
any
delay. |
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Copyright © 2004 Narconon Idaho. All rights reserved. NARCONON and the Narconon logo are trademarks and service marks owned by the Association for Better Living and Education International and are used with its permission
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