When you know a loved one is struggling with addiction, it can be difficult to find the right things to do or say. How do you approach the subject? What can you do to help them without making the situation worse? If you know someone needs professional help, how do you get him or her to go to rehab?
Understanding the Three C’s of Addiction
Before we go any further, it’s important to understand a few things about addiction. It’s a chronic disease, but it can be treated. People recover from it every day. However, there are some limitations with regards to what you, a concerned love one, can do in this situation. We call these concepts the three C’s:
- You didn’t cause the addiction.
- You can’t cure the addiction.
- You can’t control your loved one’s actions.
This is not meant to discourage you. The reality of the situation is that your loved one must put in the work to heal. It has to be a conscious decision on his or her part.
How to Convince Someone to Go to Rehab
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to encourage these efforts.
- Find out as much as you can about the drug(s) your loved one is abusing. Understanding the effects can help give you some perspective.
- Choose a safe, neutral space for a conversation about the drug use. Avoid doing this when your loved one is under the influence.
- Reach out to family and friends for support. You may want to have an emergency contact on standby depending on the severity of the addiction and situation.
- Maintain a positive approach. Assigning blame will not help, and shaming your loved one may cause him or her to retreat inward.
- Ask questions and genuinely try to understand the situation from his or her perspective.
- Express your concern and outline the risks of continued use. Do this from a place of support and love.
An Intervention May Be Needed to Get Someone to Rehab
If a one-on-one conversation doesn’t get you anywhere, you may want to consider staging an intervention. This event should be carefully planned with involvement from all family and friends that will be participating. It’s advisable to include a doctor, counselor or therapist in the planning stages and potentially in the event itself. The goal is to convince your loved one to seek treatment for addiction by outlining the consequences of his or her addiction.
Start Healing Your Family from Addiction at Footprints
When your loved one is ready for treatment, Footprints Beachside Recovery can help. Our program is custom-tailored to meet the needs of each individual. Through a holistic approach that aims to heal the mind, body and spirt from the damage caused by addiction, we can begin the healing process for your family.
Do you have questions about treatment options or insurance? Our caring, knowledgeable staff is standing by ready to help. Contact us today.