Tips To Help A Loved One Dealing With Substance Abuse

Substance abuse is the non-permissive consumption of certain medications, drugs, and chemicals that may lead to physical, psychological, and emotional dependence. It is a chronic condition that affects the brain and your body badly. Not to mention, substance abuse has a drastic spillover effect on almost every aspect of the addict’s professional and personal life. It takes a toll on their family, friends, career, and romantic relationships as well.

It can be excruciating to know that someone you care about is dealing with substance abuse. You might be worried about the victim’s well-being. You may want to save them from physical and mental harm. And most importantly, you would like to see them get rid of their addiction. But it isn’t easy. One has to factor in many things when helping someone overcome substance abuse, especially if it’s someone you care about deeply.

Are you going through a similar dilemma? These tips can help.

Start A Conversation. Listen To Their Stories.

Communication is the best way to begin any healing process. If your loved one appears to be suffering from substance abuse, then talk with them. Tell them you are ready to listen to everything they wish to share. If the person wishes to speak, encourage them without being judgmental, giving advice, or suggesting ideas. Chances are, if you listen carefully, the individual can tell you precisely what they feel and need. Only provide the person with an unlimited opportunity to speak. Always focus on keeping the conversation friendly. It is essential to let the person express their feelings without the fear of being judged.

Offer Them Support

You can lend support in multiple ways. You can try to convince them to seek counseling and medical help. Convince them that they are not alone and that you want to help them on every path to recovery. Offer to do their daily chores or run errands for them whenever possible. Help them find contact details for facilities, social care, therapists, rehabilitation centers, and most importantly.

Finding professional help for substance abuse isn’t hard anymore, thanks to technology. For example, if you live in Texas, you can search for substance abuse professional near me Texas, and browse through top quality listings near you.

Don’t Blame Them

Nobody wants to be a drug addict intentionally, But sometimes curiosity and peer pressure get the best of people, and they get hooked on drugs. Unfortunately, society fails to understand this reality by large. Often people, including close friends and family, become very judgmental. This leads to drug addicts becoming getting needlessly defensive and wanting to distance themselves from everyone. Victim-blaming does no good. On the contrary, it only makes addicts want to keep secrets and go in isolation, thus enabling them further. Please don’t blame them, but encourage them to talk about their problem.

Motivate Them To Find Some Help

For most illnesses, the earlier treatment is received, the better will be the result. However, unlike most physiological and chronic problems, people are reluctant to talk about them and get the required help. Don’t be surprised if you face rejection or excuses about why they can’t or won’t get help. In fact, this is where your role as a motivator comes in handy.

Try reasoning with them and convince them that they need professional help. Be consistent with how important it is for their well-being, without making them feel bad or embarrassed throughout the phase. Although this might be difficult to achieve, an intervention could be something that a person needs when dealing with addiction. Try getting an intervention expert to help you handle the process if you feel you can’t handle it independently.

Educate Yourself On Substance Abuse

Addiction is complicated, and it’s all right if you don’t realize it right away. However, having the time to understand your loved one’s condition and how it affects their health is extremely helpful to both of you. It allows you to be more informed of the signs and symptoms that require immediate attention, what to expect, and how to deal with abrupt situations.

Suppose you’ve never been personally subjected to depression or drug dependency. In that case, you might have misinformed assumptions regarding, let’s say, how alcoholism affects someone’s life. Therefore, to be able to understand what your loved one is going through, it is essential first to educate yourself.

Don’t Neglect And Give Up 

Substance abuse can often lead to depression both for the addict and the person looking after them. Depression is a degenerative condition. The longer it goes unchecked, the worse it becomes. For this reason, being patient is critical. Having a healthy support system will make a significant difference in the fight against addiction. You may be upset with your dear ones if they fail to seek treatment or rebound, but don’t quit on them. If you lose hope, you’re going to give up on your loved ones, which will only delay the healing process making it worse.

Conclusion

Seeing your loved one struggling with an abusive substance can be a harrowing and heartbreaking journey. You can’t persuade the victim to quit the abusive substances immediately, but you can make them feel that you’ll always be there to help them every step of the way. Your innate instinct will be to “protect” someone you love, but the victim must decide when to quit the addictive substances. The assurance that you accept them irrespective of their decision can be enough to pull them out of this situation.