Drug and Alcohol Rehab for Loved Ones
Addiction is an extremely powerful disease that has the potential to wreak absolute havoc on a user’s life and even cause him or her to die an untimely death if help is not received. This disease, however, does not only impact the use but rather it also impacts the family and friends of the user as well.
When your loved one is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, you can experience an enormous and wide-ranging set of emotions that change on a regular basis. One second you might feel like everything is under control and the next, you might feel like the world is crashing down around you. At the same time, you can be angry and resentful of your loved one, as well as be sick with concern and heartbroken. There is nothing easy about watching a loved one spiral out of control at the hands of drugs and/or alcohol, and there is certainly nothing easy about watching on.
For many friends and family members of an individual who has an addiction, it can be easy to fall into unhealthy patterns in an effort to keep a lid on everything. However, it is very common for these individuals to end up enabling the user and focus so much on appeasing him or her that the addiction grows worse, and even more, destruction is caused. The best way to navigate a loved one’s addiction is to determine if he or she needs rehab.
How Do I Know if My Loved One Needs rehab?
Families considering substance abuse rehab for loved ones in Tennessee can range in feeling completely positive that their loved ones absolutely need treatment to feel as if they are making a bigger deal out of his or her use than it really is. There is nothing simple about the disease of addiction, which is why it can be helpful to know the signs and symptoms synonymous with your loved one needing help. Some of these signs include the following:
- Distancing oneself from friends, family, and previously enjoyed activities
- Experiencing unexplained, random mood swings
- Having financial problems
- Being involved in legal issues related to using (such as a DUI/OUI or disorderly conduct)
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms when unable to use (or feeling “sick”)
- Increasing how much is being consumed or changing the way it is being consumed (e.g. going from smoking a drug to injecting it)
- Having changes in sleep and eating patterns
- Developing problems at work, school, or within the family
These are just some of the many signs and symptoms that it might be time for rehab for loved ones because when any of these signs are occurring, there is a big chance that he or she is addicted to his or her substance of choice.
How to Help My Loved One
Even if you have experienced addiction before, whether it be through a family member or from first-hand experience, it can still be complicated to know what to do when a loved one is circling the drain with his or her substance abuse. There is nothing easy about addiction, including trying to figure out how to help someone who is in as fragile of a state as being addicted can put him or her in.
That does not mean that you should not try to get professional help from a Tennessee substance abuse rehab for loved ones. Instead, despite feeling as though you will not be able to get your loved one to get help, there are a number of things that you can do to guide him or her towards treatment. These things include the following:
- Talk to your loved one – Depending on your loved one, this can be the easiest or most complex thing to do. If you feel as though you are able to have a conversation with your loved one, talking to him or her can be your best bet. Share with him or her your concerns and let him or her know (kindly) how his or her behaviors are impacting you. Offer to help him or her get treatment.
- Get help for yourself – Focusing on getting substance abuse rehab for loved ones in Nashville, Tennessee is important, but not as important as getting yourself the help you need to handle this difficult time. One of the best ways to get your loved one to accept treatment is to set your boundaries and stick to them, decipher which things to address and which to let go of, and how to internally manage the emotions you are feeling. If you are beaten down by a loved one’s addiction, you are more likely to be walked all over, allowing him or her to continue to use. However, putting in place learned skills can help you get through this period of time all while preventing your loved one to benefit from any enabling behaviors you might have otherwise had.
- Plan an intervention – Planning an intervention is often viewed as one of the last options for getting rehab for loved ones. When an intervention occurs, it is probably either because all other attempts failed or because the individual is volatile and mediation is necessary. By reaching out to an interventionist or a treatment center, you can begin planning an intervention for your loved one, which will hopefully result in him or her accepting rehab.
There are so many things that you have likely tried, along with things that you continue to do that you know will eventually be effective but take time. Remember, the best way to help your loved one is to help yourself. When you are healthy, you can then help others get healthy, too.
contact our Substance Abuse Treatment Center Today!
If you are looking into our substance abuse rehab for loved ones in Tennessee, do not hesitate to reach out right now. We have the ability to not only assess your loved one’s condition but also guide him or her towards the appropriate level of professional care.
Wait no longer. Call our substance abuse rehab today. We can help your loved one.