Tips and Advice for Families on Drug and Alcohol Interventions

People struggling with addiction need support from their loved ones. That support can come in the form of positivity, love, and hold them accountable for their actions. Approaching your loved one about his or her issue is only one-step on the road to recovery, but families should ensure they get the help they need from a certified professional interventionist.

How To Help Someone Struggling With Drug Addiction

Accountability is the most important part of accepting recovery. Family members must hold their lovedone accountable for their decision to continue their struggle with drugs or to take the help offered at the intervention. An intervention is a way of offering a solution to their problem. If the individual does not take the help offered to them, their family must accept their decision and no longer enable or support the addiction. In return, the individual must respect their loved ones’ decision to no longer continue the cycle of enabling and codependency.

This is a very difficult thing for families to accept because they love and care for the individual struggling with addiction. A family will continue to enable that individual out of love and kindness, but in reality, they are causing more hurt than anything else. Families must break the cycle to help their loved one make the right decision for recovery.

How To Help Someone Struggling With Alcohol Addiction

Someone struggling with alcohol addiction is using alcohol as a solution for their problems. Alcohol is used to self-medicate thoughts, behaviors, and feelings. Someone struggling with alcohol will have the mindset that as long as they perform the best at work and keep their job, it doesn’t matter what they do after work. The idea is that if they have their job, they don’t have an addiction. This is illogical, as jobs do not cure addiction.

Someone struggling with alcohol addiction won’t quit unless they have to. This means that if the people around them treat the consequences of their actions as minimal, there will be no pressure for the individual to change. It is better for families to do something before it gets worse. There will be an intervention eventually, but don’t wait until that intervention is a DUI, or worse.

The Rise Of Opioids

Previously, it was easier to get narcotics by going to multiple pharmacists with the same prescription. Nowadays there is a centralized database of medical records that prevents people from getting more drugs than prescribed. With this system in place, street heroin is on the rise.

Heroin these days is strong, cheap, and easily available in any major city. Heroin is mixed with fentanyl, a man-made opioid, and is now more potent than ever. With heroin being more potent than anything from the doctor and easier to get, there is no surprise that opioid use is rising. Opioids are especially dangerous as it can take everything from an individual struggling with addiction.

Mental Illness And Addiction

It is almost impossible to diagnose mental illness while the individual in question is under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Addiction can bring about mental illness symptoms, but it can also mask them. It is tell which came first. Unless an individual is detoxified for 30 to 60 days, it can be very difficult to get an accurate diagnosis.

Relapse Prevention Tips

The best strategy for recovery is long term care and following through with aftercare recommendations. The ideal amount of time in care after the intervention is 3 to 6 months. Following that, the individual should move to a sober house for after care. Moving back home can often be a step backward in recovery. Home is a comfort zone and individuals in recovery can slip back into old habits.

Another issue with moving back home is that the house of a family member is not a recovery facility. The family must accept their own accountability and both groups must grow to break the cycle of codependency. The best way to achieve this is by the individual living away from home for a while.

The Cost Of Intervention

The cost of intervention is not covered by insurance. An intervention conducted by a registered and certified professional can cost between $3,800 and $18,500. The average cost is $5,000 to $6,000. This price may seem very high, but it is cheaper than the money families already put into enabling an addiction. It is also cheaper than a DUI, jail bonds, or funeral costs. The costs for an intervention also cover the interventionist staying on for as long as needed. Families should take advantage of this help as much as they can.

Addiction Resources For Families

Recovery is challenging, but, with family support and help from a professional, the transition to a drug-free life is possible. You Do Not Need Permission To Save Someone’s Life

Take Our ‘Is It Time For An Intervention?’ Quiz

Mike Loverde

Mike Loverde is a Certified Intervention Professional with more than 10 years of experience, and he is the founder and president of Intervention Helpline. He believes in taking a family-first approach to every intervention, and he created Intervention Helpline with the primary purpose of saving each family’s loved one before it is too late.

Furthermore, he is the primary writer for the Intervention Helpline Blog. He is always eager to share his insight and expertise on interventions, addiction treatment programs, rehab insurance coverage, relapse prevention and many other related topics.

Read the latest blog articles from the desk of Mike Loverde here, and don’t hesitate to contact if you have any questions or need intervention help now.