Helping a Drug Addict or Alcoholic
Helping a drug addict is a very daunting task. It is very time consuming on the part of the helper and the addict has to be cooperative. You can not make them stop, but you can stop enabling them.
First of all the drug addict has to realize and admit that there is a problem. This takes a lot of courage. If one wants to help an addict, one first must understand addiction. We must realize that addiction can happen to anyone; there are no prerequisites to becoming a drug addict. We are all at risk. Some of the experts believe that the best way to help an addict is to first attend an Al-Anon meeting. This is a great place to learn how to deal with an alcoholic or addict.
At the meeting you will learn about how manipulative the drug addict can and will be. You will learn how to establish boundaries and make limits. One of the first boundaries is to tell the addict that you do not want them around you if they are high. Another important factor in helping an addict is to confront them about their problem and let them know that there is help available for them. Do not badger them, but just remind them. Maybe the right time will come and they will realize that it is time for them to receive help. Finally, if you think the addict is getting worse and giving up completely, it is possibly time for a formal intervention. Sometimes this works and sometimes it doesn’t. A formal intervention is when family and friends get together with the addict, confront him/her with the problem, urge them to seek professional help and of course remind them that they are supported and loved. When all else fails, a formal intervention might be just what is needed in order to figure out how to help someone who is addicted to drugs.
Sometimes as hard as we may try, there is nothing that can be done. Sometimes the consequences are not good, but we must not feel guilty, for we know that we did all we could to try to help the addict.
