What Is An Intervention And Can It Be Done During The Holidays?
An intervention is a planned gathering that involves the friends and loved ones of a person struggling with substance abuse. The individual’s support system gathers together to encourage their loved one to acknowledge his or her substance abuse problem and enter treatment. The intervention can be one of the most crucial points in any recovery process, and some families may wonder whether an intervention during the holidays could be a good idea. If a loved one suffers from drug or alcohol abuse, it may be worth considering an intervention when your loved ones gather to celebrate the holidays.
How Does An Intervention Work?
A professional interventionist can help a family organize and execute a holiday time drug intervention for a family member with a substance abuse problem. During an intervention, those gathered will tell the subject of the intervention how his or her problem has impacted their lives and express their desire to see him or her recover. This may sound simple, but an intervention requires careful planning and execution.
Why Work With Professional Interventionists?
There are several benefits to working with a professional interventionist. An intervention may seem like a straightforward concept, but approaching these situations successfully requires careful analysis of the person with the substance abuse problem, the extent of the substance abuse, and the effects the problem has had on the person and his or her close relatives and friends.
It is also vital to address the underlying cause of an addiction. For example, some people develop addictions after using drugs to cope with post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, or other mental health conditions. When an individual has a co-occurring mental health disorder with a substance abuse disorder, he or she needs carefully planned treatment that addresses both issues simultaneously. Some people simply allow recreational substance abuse to devolve into full-blown addiction and may not be willing to acknowledge their problems without professional assistance in an intervention.
When a person suffers from a substance abuse disorder, some members of his or her family and friends may think that it would be better to wait until after the holiday season is over to stage an intervention. This simply is not true due to the fact that delaying an intervention for any reason only increases the chances of an addiction spiraling out of control. The longer the person’s family and friends wait to stage an intervention, the more severe the addiction will become and the harder it will be to eventually break.
Benefits Of A Holiday Intervention
A Christmas alcohol intervention may not seem like the ideal way to spend the holidays, but helping a loved one overcome an addiction is more important than preserving any superficial pretenses of “perfect” holiday gatherings. Helping a loved one acknowledge his or her addiction and agree to seek treatment can be the greatest gift a family receives for the holidays.
The holidays are also stressful for many individuals, especially those who struggle with substance abuse. Prolonging an addiction during this time can make substance abuse worse and may lead to catastrophic results during the holiday season. If a family intends to ignore a loved one’s addiction during the holidays, it could unintentionally lead to an overdose or other serious consequences that will invariably ruin the holidays. A family gathering holiday intervention may not seem ideal at first, but there are several advantages:
Add your content…Family members who live far away may visit for the holidays. Their presence and contributions during an intervention can be invaluable and help remind a person with a substance abuse disorder that his or her family cares despite how far away they may live.
Holiday celebrations can be even better after a loved one’s agreement to enter treatment after an intervention. Instead of spending the holidays worrying about a relative’s substance abuse they can celebrate his or her entrance into rehab to start the recovery process.
Working with a professional interventionist can help smooth over any worries you and your family may have about a holiday season intervention. A professional interventionist will help prepare and organize the intervention, taking your family’s celebrations and holiday traditions into account to create the most positive and constructive experience possible.
Waiting until after the holiday season is risky. The typical stress of the holidays may make a loved one’s substance abuse worse and could potentially lead to a tragedy during what is supposed to be a celebratory and enjoyable time of the year. Despite the fact that an intervention may interrupt your typical holiday schedule, sooner is always better when it comes to encouraging a loved one to seek substance abuse treatment.
These are just a few of the reasons to consider staging an intervention during the holiday season. It is also important to remember that you cannot “wing it” with an intervention; preparation and rehearsal are important so everyone involved knows what to expect and how to be supportive during the intervention. This is one of the most important reasons to consider working with a professional interventionist.
The Value Of A Professionally Managed Intervention
Intervention Helpline offers a wide range of resources and support services for families struggling with addiction. An intervention is the first step in the recovery process for an individual struggling with an addiction, so having a professional help make the process more constructive and flow more smoothly is incredibly valuable.
Interventions can cause emotions to flare and may dredge up past traumas and grudges among family members, and a professional interventionist from Intervention Helpline can help navigate these issues and encourage more productive results. Contacting Intervention Helpline and working with one of our professional interventionists could be the first step in helping a loved one overcome substance abuse.
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.