Confronting Your Loved One's Addiction in the New Year: Tips for You

When the holidays have come and gone and you begin looking toward the next year, you may consider what you would like to see happen or change for you and your loved ones moving forward. If one of the people you love is suffering from drug or alcohol addictions, you may be wondering what steps you can take to help them make this the year that they finally overcome their addiction. Before you jump in with both feet and try to convince them to get the treatment they need to overcome their addictions, get to know some of the ways that you can best offer them help and support while also confronting their addiction.

Consider Having a Professional in Interventions Help You Out

Many people mean well when they sit down with their loved one suffering from an addiction and confront them about the situation. However, without professional guidance, it may not go as well as you would like.

There are many different ways that an addict may respond to an attempt at an intervention. They may become highly defensive and start arguing or completely shut down making the intervention impossible to be successful.

A professional in addiction interventions can help mediate between you and your loved one with the addiction and ensure that all parties hear and properly communicate with one another. They will know techniques to avoid this defensiveness or to push past it so that your loved one realizes that the purpose of the intervention is not to insult them but rather to show them love and support.

You Cannot Force Your Loved One to Change

When you are trying to help someone overcome an addiction to drugs or alcohol, it can be easy to get stuck in your own perspective and in your ideas of what they should do to change their situation. While suggestions and support are helpful, you need to remember that you cannot force your loved one to change if they do not want to do so themselves.

If you are having difficulty dealing with your loved one's reticence to change their lifestyle and work to overcome their addiction, there are support groups that you can attend to help you cope as well. AA meetings and the like are helpful to provide you with the community and understanding that you need to be able to handle your loved one's situation and the effect that it has upon you as well.

Now that you know a few of the factors that can affect your attempts to confront your loved one about their addiction to drugs or alcohol, you can get started and hopefully, this year will be better than the last. If you want to know how to best address an addiction, consider contacting a local specialist, such as Psych & Psych Services, to discuss your questions or concerns.