An Intervention is a professionally directed attempt to assist families and friends in assisting a loved one to accept help for their substance abuse. Helping a loved one struggling with substance abuse, such as alcohol, drugs, or prescription medication can be disheartening, painful, and very scary, but with help, it can be rewarding, and life changing. At times, it may seem overwhelming, and frustrating. Your loved one may argumentative or dismissive about their problem. Sometimes they cry for help but then never follow through with your efforts to get them help. It can feel like it would be easier to just ignore it, pretend that nothing is wrong and hope it just goes away. But in the long run, denying it or minimizing it, will be more damaging to you, other family members, and the person you are concerned about. Don’t put this off, the fact that you are reading this now is enough to require further action.
Substance abuse has complex problems with many related issues. And, although there is no blue print for getting help for someone to stop his or her drinking or drug use, there are some suggestions we see as being effective:
- Educate yourself on chemical dependency.
- Don’t stop talking to your loved one. Keep the dialogue going. Speak with love, care and concern. Don’t argue or fight with them about it. Let them know your fears and that you care about them.
- Know that professional help is the solution. Many families want to keep the secret and help the person from the inside. Some usual fears can be – it will be shameful, humiliating, people will judge us. You wouldn’t treat any other illness in this way. You would contact emergency services and get them to a professional.
- Understand what “tough love” is. Many times people assume tough love means leaving the person on their own with their struggles. This is not tough love it can be cruel and life threatening. The person usually feels powerless, ashamed, afraid and alone. We mustn’t affirm those feelings. We must instead support why they are feeling this way and provide potential solutions. Enabling is when we ignore the problem or support the individual in their addiction by giving them money or shelter without addressing why they cannot take care of themselves. We can educate you on effective communication and the setting of helpful boundaries.
When you contact Solutions Group NW, we will listen to your concerns and evaluate the information you give us to see if your loved one will need an intervention or not. We will then utilize the experience you have had with your loved one and determine what course of action will be best suited for their needs. Having your own private family consultant will help you to focus your energy on the solutions and no longer be focused on the problems.