Substance use addiction not only affects the
person misusing drugs but also everyone around
them. If your loved one, friend, or family
member is battling addiction, finding ways to
help a loved one with addiction while caring
for yourself can prove challenging.
Unfortunately, you cannot force someone to
stop substance use. You can’t also force
them to seek addiction treatment if they
aren’t prepared.
Therefore, helping a loved one with addiction
is restricted to showing love, support, and
encouraging them to seek addiction treatment.
This article highlights tips on how to help a
loved one with an addiction.
How does Substance Use Addiction Affect
Family and Loved Ones?
Substance use disorder is a chronic
condition where the person abusing drugs
continues using despite its harmful effects
on their health and general wellbeing.
Individuals battling drug addiction cannot
stop through sheer willpower, making it
difficult for friends, families, and loved
ones to understand and cope with their
habits.
Drug addictionaffects family and loved ones
in many ways. Among them include:
Causes mental and emotional drain
More possibility of violence and
conflicts at home
Poor communication
Economic consequences
Children with parents suffering from SUD
are also more likely to develop SUD.
Tips for Helping Someone with Addiction
Below are a few ways to help your loved one
with an addiction problem:
1.Educate Yourself on Addiction
Educating yourself about addiction is the
first step to helping a loved one with an
addiction problem. Contrary to what most
people think or believe, addiction goes
beyond abusing substances such as cocaine,
marijuana, and prescription drugs. Addiction
includes behaviour caused by underlying
emotional issues, chemical imbalances, and
other disorders that prompt a person to act
differently or self-medicate.
Those with addiction behaviour can easily
be addicted to other things, such as
exercise, eating, sex, or work, in unhealthy
ways. Addiction also often has other
co-occurring disorders, such as anxiety,
depression, OCD, and bipolar
disorders.
Individuals get addicted to drugs because
of several reasons. Some use these drugs to
cope with emotional pain or mental problems.
Others use drugs to change their feelings
and alleviate boredom or dissatisfaction.
Whatever the reason, educating yourself on
addiction enables you to approach your loved
one better.
2.Establish Trust
Establishing trust is important in helping
someone recover from substance use
addiction. If the person has betrayed your
trust before, establishing and maintaining
it is tricky. Start by avoiding trust
destroyers, such as name-calling, yelling,
lecturing, nagging, and criticizing.
Developing trust with your addicted loved
one can easily be undermined, even if your
intentions are purely to help. Below are a
few things to keep in mind when building
trust with your addicted loved one:
Understand that perspectives differ –
even though your intentions are helping
your loved one, they may perceive that you
want to control them. Such thoughts can
thrust them deeper into addiction.
Stress worsens addiction – most people
turn to substance use to manage stress. If
your interactions with the affected person
are stressful, they can sink deeper into
addiction.
Trust is mutual – establishing trust
requires mutual efforts. You cannot
develop trust if the person continues with
unwanted behaviour.
Understand the importance of consequences
– addicted persons cannot change until
their destructive behaviour causes
consequences. Therefore, even though you
want to protect the person, ignore the
urge to protect them from the consequences
of their habits and addiction.
3.Find an Effective Approach
Several effective addiction treatment
options are offered by rehab centres such as
The Retreat. Therefore, you should evaluate
several options to find one that best suits
your loved one’s recovery goals.
Treatment options available for substance
abuse addiction include:
Medication – the FDA has approved several
medications to treat substance use
addiction.
Community reinforcement and family
training – is an evidence-based
addiction recovery method
designed for families with addicted loved
ones.
Cognitive behaviour therapy
– CBT helps addicted people understand
their feelings and beliefs’ effects
on their behaviour. Through CBT, addicts
can change thoughts and behavioural
patterns that contribute to
addiction.
Rehabilitation – inpatient treatment is
effective for severe substance use
addiction. Rehab programs at the Retreat
last 30, 60, or 90 days.
Support groups – peer support groups and
the twelve steps are effective against
addiction recovery. Peer groups promote
sobriety through various approaches.
Family involvement and social support
during recovery are important.
4.Find Support for Yourself
Having a loved one with an addiction
problem is certainly stressful. Therefore,
as you focus on helping your loved one,
don’t forget about yourself. You
should accept that you are battling a tough
challenge and seek support. Fortunately,
caretakers of addicted loved ones can
benefit from endless resources and programs,
such as co-dependents anonymous.
You should also learn various stress
management techniques. These strategies come
in handy in ensuring that you cope with the
challenges you’ll likely encounter
when helping your loved one.
5.Communicate Effectively
Starting a discussion with someone about
substance use addiction is not easy. Since
nobody plans on becoming an alcoholic,
ensure that you start the conversation with
utmost understanding and compassion.
Recognizing that your loved one has an
addiction problem can cause shock, anger,
and aggression. Such high emotions can
compromise effective communication.
Therefore, ensure that you initiate the
conversation when you are both calm, free
from distraction, and sober. Below are
important communication cues to
leverage:
Don’t delay the conversation – you
shouldn’t wait until your loved one
hits rock bottom, such as getting
arrested, losing their job, or suffer a
medical emergency, to initiate the
discussion.
Express your concerns – emphasize the
fact that you honestly care for the person
and express your worries. Use specific
examples of the consequences of continuous
drug addiction.
Listen actively – even if you don’t
agree with your addicted loved one, listen
to their sentiments without arguing or
trying to contradict their thoughts and
feelings.
Provide information – explain to your
loved ones how they can address substance
use addiction problems. You can recommend
calling a helpline, talking to a
counsellor, or joining a treatment
program.
Prepare for denial – your loved one can
become angry and defensive and end the
conversation. Most people feel shame when
confronted about their behaviour and deny
the presence of an addiction problem.
Avoid getting into an argument and revisit
the issue later.
Get Help Today!
While there’s no one-size-fits-all
strategy toovercoming addiction, you should find ways of helping your
loved one recover from addiction.The Retreat
provides addiction treatment solutions
tailored to meet individual needs and goals.
Contact us
to learn more about our addiction treatment
solutions.