It is so difficult to watch a loved one struggling with drug or alcohol addiction. Their loved one is usually falling apart with family members and friends sitting on the sidelines, watching the carnage build with very few ways to really help. It’s even more devastating for family and friends if they get pulled into the problem as collateral damage or codependent enablers.
Among the things that family and friends can do to help is always being on the offensive about encouraging the addiction sufferer to get help. If you have a loved one who is mired in a drug or alcohol addiction, this is something you will want to start doing the second you see there might be an addiction problem.
Of course, you might not know exactly how to tell if your loved one is in trouble. to that end, we offer you these common signs of addiction:
- Displaying an inability to socialize and maintain relationships with important people
- Having difficulties at work or school due to tardiness or missing work
- Inability or unwillingness to handle basic personal responsibilities like paying bills or cleaning the house
- Constant trouble with law enforcement due to potential drug-related criminal behaviors or DUIs
- Trouble keeping up with personal hygiene
- Obsession with finding drugs/alcohol or the money to purchase said substances
If you see these behaviors in one of your loved ones, you have cause to be concerned.
As the problem worsens, and it likely will, you might come to a point where a family/friend intervention is the only way family members and friends can be of service. To be clear, the intervention process can be very stressful for both participants and the addiction sufferer. You need to keep that in mind at all times. Why?
There is always the possibility your intervention could go terribly wrong. The addiction sufferer could get very angry and rebel by making their addiction problem worse. If that should happen, your job is to stay cool. It’s possible that after a cooling-off period, the addiction sufferer will come to realize the intervention took place because people care. That caring might still be enough to get them into treatment.
Let’s discuss how to run a proper intervention.
How to Run an Intervention
This is for your son. The best chance you have for the intervention to succeed in putting together a rock-solid intervention process. It will require cooperation from all participants, but a good intervention process definitely increases the likelihood that your son will see the error of his ways and want help.
Before you start trying to organize an intervention, you need to educate yourself about the process. You can do that by contacting an addiction treatment professional at a rehab facility like ours. Any experienced treatment professional should be able to give you tips on running an effective intervention.
After educating yourself about the intervention process, here are the chronological things you need to do:
- Assemble of group of family members who care enough to participate
- Educate participants about the intervention process
- Have participants prepare and rehearse what they want to contribute (everything should be done in a positive way without attacking and accusations
- Contact local rehabs for possible treatment resources you can offer to the your son
- Plan the intervention out with strong focus on the where and when
- Hold the intervention in a neutral place
- Prepare to help your son get treatment should they agree to do so (the ultimate goal)
If you will follow these guidelines, provide a united front, and give indications that a lot of planning went onto the intervention, you will have a reasonable chance for success. Should things not go as planned, do not give up hope. There is always a chance you can regroup and try an intervention at a later date if necessary.
As you plan your intervention, we wish you well. We would like to offer you this. If we can assist in any way with your son’s intervention, we would be happy to do so. If your son agrees to get treatment, the ultimate goal, we would also be happy to provide the help he needs. Please feel free to pick up the phone and call us at 833-364-0736. You are to be commended for caring enough about your son and family to try to make a difference.