Helping a loved one with a substance addiction

Helping a loved one with a substance addiction can be a very stressful and confusing obstacle. There is no one factor that causes addiction, although, there are several reasons addiction develops. The key is to recognize the warning signs, such as detachment, isolation, or changes in behavior, before the addiction gets too out of hand.

I was the type of addict that about ten years into my addiction that I liked to get my drugs and alcohol and go home and stay in my room until they were gone and then repeat this process over and over. I lived with my aunt at the time and she basically enabled me in my addiction by giving me a place to stay and money that I swore up and down that I would not use for drugs. I mean after a while she had to know but she still kept helping me or she thought she was because she was really unknowingly helping me to kill myself on the installment plan.

Majority of addicts suffer from a form of mental illness, such as but not limited to, anxiety and depression. If not recognized in time, addiction can manifest into psychological and/or physical dependency. Physical tends to lean more toward the body its self adapting to having the drug. Psychological tends to lean more towards the mental illusion that the drug is needed to function normally. In either state, once the drug is not available, your loved one could suffer some very uncomfortable withdrawals.

Helping Loved Ones with substance Addictions

The best way to help your suffering loved one, ridiculous as this may sound, do not help or enable them in any way. By enabling them to use, you are no better than the person selling the drug. Two skills an addict can perfect with little or no effort at all are deception and manipulation. Do not believe what an addict says, believe their actions.

Best thing to do is set solid boundaries for your loved one and standing behind that decision. Also, do not take advice from family or friends. Information could leak out into work or family life, causing the addict to feel betrayed and in need of more drugs. Instead, educate yourself on the addiction and keep lines of communication open. The better understanding you have of your substance addiction, the easier it will be for you to discuss their recovery effectively.

The best way to help a loved one with substance abuse addiction would be to try to talk them into going to a substance rehab. If you are able to do this they will be cared for properly by a trained medical staff. They can even be detoxed medically from what ever drug they are hooked on. This type of detox takes about 5 days but I would recommend that when you are finished detoxing that you continue on in residential treatment.

It has been my experience that those who try to take a short cut with there recovery from addiction and do not go to residential treatment find themselves using soon after leaving rehab.

Good luck