There are numerous examples of people who were unwilling to get help for their addiction and, for one reason or another, forced into sobriety. These stories are surprisingly positive, as the majority of these cases have experienced long term success in recovery. The fact is, the very nature of addiction is that you do not realize you have the disease; the disease itself blinds you to it. Sometimes, being pushed into sobriety is the solution. The question remains, is this the best approach for everyone or are these cases the minority? The answer is somewhere in the middle.
Professional experience has shown that when an addict is coaxed into seeking help, they tend to find the extrinsic motivation transform into an intrinsic one. As they begin feeling the physical improvement of their sobriety and become educated on their disease, they are more receptive to the decision of making the change permanent. Here are some ways to help encourage your friend to get help. When you evaluate the following factors, you may notice a lack of effort in any of these areas serve as reasons why your friend may not be ready to quit.
Understand the Causes of Addiction
First, you yourself must get educated on the disease of addiction and view it as such. Like any other disease caused by pollutants in our bodily systems, drugs invade and take over. To fix any problem, a recognition of it for what it truly is must be the first step in order to determine what needs to be done to resolve it. This seems pretty basic, but many still believe that addiction is a character flaw which can only be solved by the individual.
Second, lead by example. If you’re enabling your friend in any way. Stop. Take care of yourself and seek help from support groups of others in your same situation. Al-Anon is a good example of a support network for friends and loved ones of alcoholics.
Third, draw a line in the sand. Stop being an enabler by helping the addict maintain his present lifestyle. Setting roadblocks and actively dissuading him from the path of addiction is also necessary. In other words, he must understand that there are things which will not be tolerated. Treating your friend with respect and care is not the same as allowing them to cause harm to themselves or others.
Prepare an Intervention
Fourth, stage an intervention. Special care must be taken when attempting this. First and foremost, seek counsel from a professional interventionist. Interventions work very well in helping addicts to acknowledge their problem and become aware of their disease. However, they only work when properly planned out. Interventions are coordinated efforts to persuade someone to take a different course of action, in this case rehab.
Addiction isn’t easy for anyone, not for the addict nor for the family members around him. If an intervention is necessary for you loved one, talk to a family intervention specialist at Lead Treatment Center before you begin. Call us at 800.380.0012 for a roadmap to recovery.
