It’s always a challenge to talk to someone you love about getting treatment for their addiction. Here are some things to help ensure the greatest chance of success. When someone you love has a drug problem and there are clear signs and symptoms of an addiction, the next step is talking to them about treatment. Tying to convince someone that they need help is a very delicate subject. It requires a lot of tact so that you don’t end up offended them or pushing them further away. First, you should know that some people are simply not ready to admit they have a problem. People who suffer from addiction are often in a very fragile psychological state. This is because of the effect that their drug use has had on their brain and emotions. They could be defensive and want to protect themselves. Others may push back so that they continue to use without any interference. Sometimes their level of denial is so strong that they might think they have it completely under control. Understanding how to compel someone to get help can make you an important factor in this person’s life. When you know for sure that a person has a dangerous addiction, you should educate yourself on how to approach the situation and get involved so that you can prevent the problem from getting worse. Whether you stage an intervention or sit down for a one-on-one conversation, it’s important that you take a proactive approach to your loved one’s recovery. The Wrong Approach for Helping Drug Addicts Before you get a sense of how to talk to someone about their addiction, you should first learn about the “don’ts” of approaching an addict. If you have a negative, angry attitude, you will not be able to convince them to get help because their natural response will to  try to defend themselves. Being accusatory, threatening or condescending will cause more harm than good because they might only get more upset and turn back to drugs to escape. On the other hand, pleading or begging them to quit may cause them to ignore you because they are in a self-centered state of mind. In this condition, they care only about themselves and their next fix. While it may be tempting to tell them about the dangers of their addiction, rest assured that most addicts are aware of the dangers but at this point, they may have little regard for their own life or health at this point. A better approach toward helping drug addicts is to help them see the consequences for themselves and lead them to the conclusion that they are drinking or using too much. This can be difficult because of their continuing denial. Overcoming an Addict’s Denial  One of the biggest obstacles to someone deciding to seek treatment is their own powerful sense of denial that prevents them from seeing the situation objectively. Denial makes it almost impossible for people with addictions to admit that they need to quit. If you’re trying to figure out how to talk to an addict about their drug use, you’ll need to have a strategy for approaching their denial. At times, addicts can begin to break through denial on their own because the negative consequences of their drug use. In some cases, the consequences become so severe that they hit a “bottom.” Each addict decides for himself when he’s reached that point where he or she needs to enroll in a treatment program, but there are opportunities to demonstrate to an addict that they have indeed hit what most people would consider to be a bottom. A good time to talk to someone with an addiction is when they have just experienced a very serious consequence for their behavior. Perhaps they got fired from their job, or maybe an important relationship has dissolved, or maybe they’re facing legal issues. At this time, an addict may be more inclined to listen and admit that they have a problem. Timing is important and certain circumstances can make someone more prone to reach the conclusion on their own that they need to get treatment for their substance abuse. How to Talk to an Addict About Rehab Drug Treatment To get someone to consider rehab drug treatment you’ll want to avoid being too aggressive or commanding about the situation. Sometimes the best way to start the conversation is to ask questions and get them discuss what is going on in their life. The more questions you ask, the more you are getting them to really think about the negative things that are happening in their life and whether their drug abuse is root of most of their problems. Know that some of these problems may be deeply emotional, some might be because of previous abuse. All of these issues will need to be dealt with in recovery. The truth is that addicts may think more positively about treatment programs if they feel that they have really made the decision for themselves. It is truly the best scenario because instead of them entering treatment as a way to fulfill an obligation to the people around them, they are choosing sobriety for themselves. Asking a lot of open ended questions can help effectively lead an addict to consider a treatment program rather than ordering them to get help because you believe it is the right thing for them. Empathy for Addiction Recovery Help Whenever you speak to someone about their addiction, you will have to constrain certain emotions and judgments that you may have about them. Even though you might feel angry, frustrated, or fed up with their behavior. You will have to put those feelings aside and focus on empathy in your conversation. You might feel that you want to disagree with them when they say certain things, but being antagonistic or not adapting to their reactions  can cause the discussion to go off the rails. Before speaking with them, try to remember to speak softly, show empathy and be sure you express your love for them. Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand where they are coming from so that you will be less likely to say the wrong thing. Always make empathy a priority when you are attempting to motivate someone to go to treatment. As long as you realize that underneath all of their selfish behavior, they really are suffering in their addiction. They are hurting themselves more than anything and it would be more helpful if you can show compassion rather than judgement. Encouraging Responsibility to Get Help for Alcohol Abuse If you are trying to motivate someone to enter treatment, your role is to help them recognize that they have a problem. They must come to the conclusion that rehab is the right solution on their own The most effective way to do this is to encourage the addict to take responsibility for their actions and their addictive behavior. People with addictions often blame their genetics or others for their problems and may want to avoid taking responsibility.  hey may try to suggest that family difficulties or other people’s treatment of them drove them to addiction. While there could be family dynamics or other issues that influenced them to drink, it is important for them to realize that their behavior has always been their own choice. Taking ownership of their problems and taking responsibility for what they have done in the past helps to create a greater desire to change. Once they realize that it is up to them to make changes they will be more open to getting rehab treatment. Creating Boundaries before Treatment for Drug Addiction It’s not uncommon for an addict’s friends or family to get too involved in the situation. In fact, it’s easy to get caught up into the chaos and to get dragged into the drama.  One way to motivate a person to seek treatment is to begin to set boundaries with the addict so that they begin to realize how their actions are affecting other people. Do not fall into the habit of enabling the addict by putting the burden of their mistakes on yourself. You can tell them that you will not lend them any more money, bail them out of jail or even be around when they are drunk or high. Setting these boundaries is not an attempt to punish them for their actions but rather to keep you at a safe distance and allow the addict to fully experience the consequences of their actions. If you are always there to soften the blow of their mistakes, they will have little motivation to change. Picking up the pieces of each chaotic situation is simply enabling the addict to continue. Enlisting Help for Drug Treatment Options When the time comes to start looking at treatment options, don’t get overwhelmed. The best you can do is to conduct research on what treatment programs exist and exploring ways to pay for treatment if it’s not covered by insurance.  If you feel that you can’t handle the task on your own, reach out to your group of concerned friends and family members. You may feel embarrassed to bring up the subject, but you might find that once you open up the topic, they are likely already aware of the severity of the addiction. Sharing your concerns with a group of other people will help you collectively come up with a strategy that will work best for convincing the addict to get treatment. At this point, it is advisable to make sure you’ve done your research with rehab facilities. In essence, you want to make sure that if the addict agrees to treatment, the very next action is to fly/drive the addict to the facility. [contact-form-7 id=”586″ title=”Contact Us”]             Staging an Intervention for Recovery from Addiction In the end you might decide that the best way to motivate your loved one to get treatment is to stage an intervention rather than have a one on one conversation. If you have tried to talk to them before and have made no progress than getting the help of a professional interventionist could help you ensure that you get the best possible outcome. An intervention can be carefully planned with the help of an unbiased third party who is there to facilitate conversation and prevent emotions from running high. Professionals with a lot of intervention experience will know the right way to approach the addict and handle their reactions to anything that is said. They know how to deal with issues of denial and defensiveness that might be preventing your loved one from making the decision to get help. An intervention is also a way to include a group of people in the person’s life that are worried about them and want to see them get better. Talking about How to Treat Alcohol Abuse Whether you choose a one on one conversation or a group intervention about the treatment for alcohol abuse, the discussion should always circle back to professional treatment as the solution. The first step of course is getting the addict to admit that they have a problem but the ultimate goal of talking to them is to convince them that they must go to rehab. Some addicts might insist that they can handle recovery on their own and can either moderate their drinking or go cold turkey without any help. You must be firm in persuading them that this is not an option because it will only create more problems and be dangerous to their health. By the end of your conversation they should be resolved to go into treatment starting with detoxification and then living in a residential facility. The only way to fully treat an addiction is with an intensive program that will help address the many physical and mental health issues that accompany substance abuse. Always make sure that your loved one will go to treatment and not attempt to quit on their own before the conversation ends. Support as the Best Way to Beat Addiction If you are successful in convincing someone to enter a treatment center for their addiction, then your involvement should not stop there. The best way you can help them recover is to be there for them and support them throughout the whole process. Stay in contact with them while they are in treatment and check in to see how they are doing and what kind of progress they have made. People with addictions need friends and loved ones to rely on for help when they are struggling to stay sober. Your role should be to keep encouraging them, listen to them and allow them to confide in you because recovery is too difficult to accomplish alone. You can be involved in their recovery by spending time with them doing sober activities and providing positive reinforcement whenever they need it the most. When they complete their treatment, they will still need your help in the transition to living at home again. If you help them stay on track and avoid relapse then they will be able to achieve a successful recovery. [contact-form-7 id=”27″ title=”Contact form 1″]