Addiction is a disease that causes compulsive drug-seeking and use, despite harmful consequences to one’s health, relationships, and ability to function. The main problem with addiction is that it can make you feel powerless over your own life. It also makes you think about drugs or alcohol all the time, which can make it hard to focus on other things in your life.
You might start neglecting important responsibilities like work, school or family so that you can keep doing drugs or drinking alcohol instead. People who are addicted to drugs or alcohol often use them for many years before they realize how much trouble their addiction is causing them.
Addiction can cause serious problems in your life, including the following:
- Poor decision making
- Financial problems
- Relationship issues
- Health problems
Addiction Treatment Starts With Intervention
So you’ve made the decision to help your loved one get the help they need. You’ve done some research, and you’re ready to go. But what’s next? You could try to talk to them about their addiction—but if they’re addicted, chances are they won’t be very open to hearing it from you. That’s where intervention comes in.
Intervention is a way for you to express your concerns about their behavior without making them feel attacked or judged. It’s a way for them to hear your concerns and understand that you love them enough to want them to get help.
There are many different types of addiction intervention, but most share these steps:
- Preparation: Assembling an intervention team and gathering information about the addict’s addiction history
- Planning: Determining what will happen during the intervention, including who will speak and when each person will speak
- Intervention day: Bringing everyone together with the addict in a safe place where they can listen without distractions or interruptions (like at home or at work)
- Aftercare planning: Figuring out what happens after the intervention—like how often family members should check in with their loved one.
Advantages Of Intervention
- For starters, it can give you a chance to talk to your loved one about their addiction in a safe space, where they’re not under pressure to hide or lie about it. It gives them the opportunity to hear how much their addiction has hurt you and other people in their lives. It gives you the chance to tell them how much you love them and want them to get help—and make sure they know that there are resources out there for them.
- It can get your loved one into treatment before a crisis happens.
- The advantage of an intervention is that it gives the person being intervened on a chance to get help for their addiction. It helps them see that they’re not alone in their struggles, and it gives them the opportunity to seek treatment before things get worse.
- It’s a way to get your loved one help without having to do it alone.
- Provide a less drastic approach so that the person will be encouraged to get treatment
