If you currently have someone in your life, whether he or she is a relative, close friend, or significant other, who is currently struggling with addiction, you are all too familiar with the pain of having to watch this terrible disease eat away at your loved one. In many cases, those closest to people in the throes of addiction are plagued by many difficult emotions, including shame, anger, and anguish. How can you help this person defeat this disease, so he or she can lead a healthier and happier life?
Consider an Intervention
Most of us are familiar with the overall concept of an intervention, but many often do not know exactly what it entails. When you host an intervention for your loved one, you are essentially asking them to seek professional assistance for their addiction. It is an event that must be properly planned out to ensure its success and, if possible, it should include friends, family, and other individuals who care for this person’s wellbeing.
However, planning an intervention often seems like a daunting task and there are a lot of fears for those involved to overcome. An intervention can actually help you as much as it can help your struggling loved one and give you hope for a better future.
Some of the most common fears experienced by the loved ones of an addict are listed below:
- Fear of your family being ripped apart by addiction or other mental disorders: A person’s struggle with addiction can have several consequences that often affect more than just the addict. An intervention can help a family heal with the right resources and tools. In fact, as friends and family share their stories and discover ways in which they can relate to each other, they can also exercise a little introspection regarding their own behavior. Additionally, the process of intervention can also help reduce the tension in an addict’s relationships with others or the relationships they have amongst themselves, bring people together, and improve communication.
- Fear of your loved one never accepting or seeking treatment: Conversations with addicts regarding their condition can often come off as hostile or confrontational and many tend to be deep in denial. This can make those who are closest to the addict feel rather hopeless when it comes to believing their loved one will seek treatment. The fact is, however, that interventions are often incredibly successful, particularly when led by a professional.
- Fear that, unless your loved one is healthy, you cannot be either: Co-dependency is often a big issue among addicts and the people in their lives. Close friends and family members tend to become so entangled with their loved one that they get taken on an emotional pendulum, swinging back and forth. How good (or bad) their day is often get dictated by the addict’s behavior. Through an intervention, friends and family are able to learn what it takes to create and enforce healthier boundaries.
Remember, an intervention can help you just as much as it can help the addict, so you can all heal and work together to build stronger, healthier relationships with one another.
Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center in Arizona
Addiction is a disease that not only afflicts the person suffering from it, but his or her friends and family as well. If you are trying to overcome your addiction to drugs or alcohol, or have a loved one who suffers from addiction, you should not wait any longer to seek professional help. At Decision Point Center in Arizona, our team is dedicated to helping individuals who are in the throes of addiction beat this illness and work toward a healthier, happier life. We provide a vast array of treatment options and programs, including treatment for drugs and alcohol, trauma therapy, family therapy detox programs, extended residential treatment, and a 45-day residential inpatient program.
Get started on reclaiming your life today and contact Decision Point Center in Arizona at (844) 292-5010 to learn more about how our team can help you live a life that is free of addiction.