Dealing with a friend, relative, or child struggling with drug addiction can be difficult to handle. If you are in this situation, you might try an intervention to tell the person about how their addiction is affecting those around them and what needs to happen henceforth.
You may be scared because you have never had to stage an intervention before. The following guide will help you and your loved one understand how their addiction affects your lives, and why they must seek help.
However, keep in mind that drug addiction is serious and can only be treated by professional intervention. One of the options to help your affected friend or relative is to take them to an addiction treatment center. Contact Virginia Centre for Addiction to get professional assistance as opposed to dealing with the problem yourself.
Otherwise, here’s how to test the waters with an intervention.
1. Understand About Drug Addiction
There is a lot of research to do if you’re going to stage a successful intervention. You need to make them understand the depth of their actions and inspire them to seek help. The only way to succeed is by understanding addiction.
Use online resources to know what you’re up against and understand how to make the intervention helpful. Also, do some research on the person you intend to help with the intervention. Establish their daily routine and decide the best time to talk to them. You should choose a time you think they’re sober. Make sure everyone involved in the intervention is also available at the time.
2. Talk to an Addiction Counselor
There are numerous licensed therapists who specialize in addiction. Such professionals have useful experience in what is required to stage a successful intervention, so their advice can be of huge help. You may even choose to have a counselor during the intervention to keep things calm. It also ensures everyone’s contribution helps towards the success of the process.
When supporting the addicted loved one, it’s easy to lose your calm during this intervention. This is because you’re also feeling some resentment, which might make it difficult to deal with the situation in a rational manner. Therefore, a professional should be in the room to help.
3. Be Ready to Lay Down the Law
The reason for staging an intervention is to help the addicted person seek professional assistance. This is the goal that will determine whether the exercise is successful or not. However, it doesn’t stop there. You need to consider what you’re going to do if the person doesn’t agree to join a rehabilitation center.
You love this person, so you’re not going to cut them off from your life. Outline the changes you expect to see and the things they need to avoid in the future. You should be prepared to convince them to start seeing a therapist or attend recovery meetings.
4. Deliver the Message Carefully
Now that you understand the situation and know what you’re going to do, you need to do the all-important step of staging the intervention. Choose your words wisely to avoid sounding hostile. Remember, the person might become angry or defensive even before you start talking, so you need to start the discussion by sounding supportive rather than confrontational.
This rule needs to be followed by everyone else in the room. Let the discussions be controlled. If anyone goes overboard with their emotions, don’t be afraid to ask them to step out of the room. You may need to go beyond the ideal conditions to make this intervention successful.
Bottom Line
Intervention is a way to make your loved one accept their addiction. It’s the first step towards becoming clean and overcoming the addiction. Make sure you approach it the right way by doing research and limiting emotions to avoid making the situation worse.
