Drug Intervention: Tips On Helping A Drug Addict

Drug Intervention Needs To Be Done

These are the actual words of someone who made it through drug rehab because of the drug intervention of family and friends.

Does someone you know need a drug intervention? Has their life spiraled so far out of control that you are afraid the next call you get will be the police, informing you that they are in jail, or worse, dead?

In some cases, drug addicts ask for help. They realize that they need to do something to change their life or it will get worse than ever. In many cases, however, the addict denies anything is wrong, and continues to lie, cheat, and steal in order to support their drug habit. You can see their life going completely out of control, but don’t know what to do.

Others are not so lucky.

When Intervention is Needed

As one graduate of The Atlanta Recovery Center Program put it: “My family and friends guided me and forced me into drug rehab and for that I will be forever grateful because I am alive. I live. I enjoy every day now, especially knowing where I would have been had I been allowed to go where the drugs were leading me. My family’s help will always be a debt I owe because without it I’d be gone.”

Many of us have heard of intervention and have perhaps seen the TV show INTERVENTION. In this reality program, a professional interventionist works with the family and drug addict to get the addict to agree to rehab. The interventionist does a good job, often rescuing the family and addict from a living hell within the one hour allotted for the show. Is it any wonder that many wish for a fairy godmother who will provide a happy ending before the final commercial break?

Successful approaches that result in treatment for the addict happen within the framework of an intervention; that is a family meeting. These meetings must be carefully planned beforehand. A family that has already been through hours of defiance, despair, rage, arguments, threats and tears, may have difficulty with this careful planning. Fortunately, help is available.

Drug Intervention Tips

Here are a few suggestions, provided by The Atlanta Recovery Center Drug Rehab in Georgia, from those who have done successful interventions.

• Decide who is going to be there. Family members or friends that the addict knows well and respects should be there, not those who will only create hostility because of their own anger towards the addict.

• Help the drug addict identify reasons that they must get help. These reasons must be real to the addict. There are issues that are significant and devastating to the addict – get them to talk about them.

• Force the addict out of their “addiction comfort zone”. An addict who is being provided money, a car and a place to freely live and do drugs is not likely to quit. Let the addict know they will no longer receive this type of assistance. Take away any “help” that is actually killing the person.

• The optimum time for an intervention is just after a major event, such as an incarceration, job loss or spouse leaving. It should be done when the addict is sober.

• The tone of the intervention should be one of concern and love, but not sympathy. It must be unwavering in communicating that the family will no longer standby and watch the addict kill themselves.

• Have a staff member from the chosen rehab available if possible, if there is no interventionist.

• Before the intervention, have the addict’s bags packed and travel arrangements made. There should be no delay.

Some families may be more confident with the help of an outside interventionist. The person chosen should have a good track record and access to a rehab program with a high recovery rate that is immediately available. (The Atlanta Recovery Center Drug Rehab in Georgia will admit eligible candidates immediately.) The family should feel comfortable with the personality of the interventionist.

Obviously there are not enough trained interventionists for every family, but there is help available. Ms Rieser comments, “At The Atlanta Recovery Center Drug Rehab in Georgia we provide materials upon request, help plan family intervention meetings and assist in getting addicted members into treatment. An experienced staff member will assist during the meeting if needed, either in person or by phone.

“An intervention with proper planning and carried out correctly will result many times in an addict agreeing to receive help. Call us. We will send you written a written intervention study guide, coach your family and help with planning where all possible scenarios are thought out and prepared for. And for those special situations where you need an outside interventionist, we can help you with that too. The point is – YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS SITUATION AND CHANGE THINGS FOR THE BETTER.”

Is your family member stuck in the revolving door of rehab? Help them walk out of rehab for the last time and into a new life. Call The Atlanta Recovery Center at 877-236-3981. We specialize in relapse prevention.

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