Coping with a Loved One Who Is Unwilling to Seek Help for Addiction
Substance abuse is a problem that affects entire families, not just individuals who have a dependency. Seeing a relative, friend, or spouse struggle with an addiction is a heartbreaking experience, and it becomes worse if your loved one refuses treatment. Below are some guidelines to help you get through to your loved one and help make treatment available.
Seek professional guidance: Working with a psychologist or a treatment center will help you understand how to approach your loved one. You may need to orchestrate an intervention, and this should always be done with professional advice. You do not want your loved one to feel attacked or cornered, but it is important to make the issue and the need for change clear.
Offer support without becoming an enabler: The line between helpful support and dependency in addiction can be hard to distinguish. As a friend or family member of an individual with a substance abuse problem, you will probably want to offer what support you can, but it is easy to perpetuate the problem while trying to help. Make sure you avoid becoming too aggressive when you speak with your loved one, and do not offer financial support or excuses for his or her addiction. Getting counseling can give you a better understanding of ways that you can hurt your loved one while trying to help.
Don’t give up: Even if your loved one enters treatment with a negative attitude, you should remain supportive and hopeful. A good treatment program can turn around an individual’s perspective on drug abuse and provide the lessons necessary for sober living.
Get the advice and hands-on support you need to help your loved one by contacting Astoria Pointe at (503) 298-4393. We offer residential programs for men struggling with drug or alcohol addiction, and our partner facility, The Rosebriar, provides rehab care for women.
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