How can you help a loved one who is an addict

Watching a loved one suffer from addiction can be very hard for you and the family, never mind the person actually going through the addiction. It can be hard to get involved though as you are not sure how they will respond and you do not want them to push you away, but you do need to try and help where you can to help them get through this disease.

If you have a loved one who is suffering from addiction and you are unsure what you could do to help and want to know how to get them some help, then these few tips should help you to get started with your help and give you an understanding of what you can do.

Learn to talk to someone with an addiction

It can be hard to know what to say and how to approach the subject of their addiction so you need to know how to do this so you do not end up pushing them away and upsetting them. You need to try and approach them when they are already aware they have a problem. That way it is easier to get them to open up when they already know they have an addiction and are trying to quit.

Be caring and emphatic when you voice your concerns, try not to be angry and intimidating. Always remain calm while you talk to them about it, give them suggestions on what they can do to get better and what treatment may be best for them.

Know when to have an intervention

With interventions, it can be hard to know when to gather everyone together and have one as it is usually close family and friends coming together to discuss it with the addict and helping them get help. You can share how it may have affected all of you and why you are staging this intervention.

You can find out all about interventions online and how best to hold them. You could also try and get them to an invitational intervention with someone meditating outside the family who is a professional. This can be good as it isn’t sprung upon them, and they are actively seeking help by accepting the invite.

Stop enabling them

It can be hard to stop enabling and come around to actually helping someone, addicts will not see an issue most of the time as you may not have said anything and led them to believe what they are doing is fine. This is enabling and does not help.

Also if they are asking for money constantly and you give it to them this is enabling as you are actively feeding their addiction instead of trying to help stop it. You need to try and stop this and set out clear boundaries with them that you are not going to be enabling them anymore and that you feel they may have an issue.

If you have someone close to you that is dealing with addiction and you are unsure how you can help them or where to get started then hopefully, these few tips will give you an idea of what you can do to help. It’ll start you on the journey to helping your loved one.