21 million people in the US are addicts; you most likely know someone who struggles with addiction.
If you want to know how to convince someone to go to rehab, there are a lot of things you need to consider first. When people try to help addicts, they can often make decisions that actually harm the person rather than help them.
To maximize your chances of success, here are some things to consider if you want to help your loved one check into rehab.
Time Is of the Essence
The longer someone’s addiction goes on, the more difficult it’ll be for them to break the habit. With certain substances such as Xanax and alcohol, a physical dependency will develop the longer you use them.
Once someone is physically addicted to a substance, trying to stop using it will result in some pretty bad side effects. Often, these are so unpleasant that the addict will do what they need to do in order to not experience that feeling. If you can get some treatment before the physical addiction has taken hold, you’re more likely to be successful.
Break the Routine
Once you’ve been taking a drug for a long time, it becomes part of your routine. Everyone lives their lives according to certain loops. For a healthy person, they’ll get up early and go to work, and maybe go for a run every weekend.
Once you get into the habit of doing something, it becomes difficult to change it. Even if you suddenly lost your job, you’d still probably get up early even though you have nowhere to be. This is because you’ve internalized your routine.
This is what happens with addicts; they become so accustomed to using drugs or alcohol that they get stuck in a loop. The longer the drug or alcohol use goes on, the harder it’ll be to break out of this cycle.
Consider the Mental Health Side of Things
The majority of addicts don’t start drinking or taking drugs for no reason. Quite often, there’s a significant mental health side to it.
For example, many addicts have experienced some kind of trauma in their past. This could’ve led to them getting PTSD, and they might use drugs or alcohol to cope with their condition.
Lots of addicts don’t even have a label to give their mental health conditions. This makes it incredibly difficult for them to accept that they have a problem, which makes it harder for them to get help.
Help Them Understand
If you can help an addict understand they might have a mental health condition, you might stand a better chance of getting them into rehab. For people with mental health issues, finally getting a label for your condition can make a massive difference and can help them to get their lives back on track.
When you attend rehab, not only will you get the chance to detox from drugs and alcohol, but you’ll also get the opportunity to undertake mental health counseling. When an addict with mental health issues finally gets the opportunity to address their issues, it can have a dramatic effect on their desire to use drugs.
For some addicts, once certain issues are addressed, their desire to drink or use drugs will go down significantly.
Stage an Intervention
An intervention can be a great way to convince someone to go to rehab. An intervention is a surprise meeting where all of an addict’s loved ones let them know how their behavior has affected them.
While an intervention can be effective, there’s also a reasonable chance that it’ll backfire. An intervention that’s done badly could actually push an addict further into addiction.
If you’re going to do an intervention, you need to take the time to ensure it’s done right. You might want to consider hiring a professional addiction counselor to oversee the proceedings. This can help you get it right so you don’t inadvertently do anything that’s going to be detrimental.
It’s important that everyone involved meets up beforehand to make sure everyone’s on the same page. If you want to do an intervention, you need to make sure everyone’s prepared to make it a success. Don’t try to do an intervention if you’re not prepared to put in the work to make sure it goes well.
Accept Your Limitations
If you have a loved one who’s addicted to drugs or alcohol, you need to accept that you’re limited in what you can do. As much as you might want your loved one to recover from their addiction, sometimes, you’re powerless to do anything.
If you try to control the actions of an addict, you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment. It might be a cliche that addicts will only quit when they’re ready, but it’s true! Trying to force someone to go to rehab when they don’t actually want to stop using drugs or alcohol is going to be a waste of everyone’s time.
Addicts can be incredibly resourceful and many can even manage to obtain drugs while they’re in rehab. In order for rehab to work, you need to have a certain level of cooperation from the addict themselves.
Don’t Force It
Always remember that you can guide your loved one to a favorable outcome, but you can’t actually force them to do anything. By all means, you should suggest a rehab, but don’t be surprised if this is initially rejected.
Just make sure your loved one understands that you’ll be there for them when they’re ready to take a step in the right direction.
Be Mindful of Your Emotions
Whenever you’re talking to your loved one, you should be careful that you don’t allow your emotions to take control. If you’re particularly close to them (for example, you’re their parent), it can be difficult to keep your emotions in check.
When talking to your loved one about their addiction, it becomes easy for you to lose control and say something regrettable. Creating negative emotions can result in your loved one turning to drugs or alcohol to escape them. No matter how much your loved one has hurt you, it’s important that you’re mindful of what you say.
Remind yourself that addiction is an illness and that it’s not a moral or spiritual failing. You might have a certain history with your loved one, but it’s essential that you put this to the side to help them deal with their addiction issues.
Be Mindful of Enabling Behavior
Despite your best intentions, sometimes, your behavior can actually enable an addict in continuing on their path.
For example, you might give them money. Addicts will often approach their loved ones and ask for money for convincing reasons. For example, they might say they need to buy some clothes for a night out.
Unfortunately, they’re almost always going to spend any significant money they get their hands on by purchasing their drug of choice. It might seem cruel to deny your daughter money, but you’re not helping her by giving her money for her addictions.
When addicts fall into financial difficulty, this can sometimes be the catalyst they need to get the help they need. If you give money to your addicted loved one, you’re not only helping to fund their habit, but you might also be preventing them from getting the help they need to recover from drugs or alcohol.
Take Care of Yourself
When your loved one is stuck in addiction, it’s easy to forget about your own needs and to only focus on their needs. This could easily lead to you suffering from mental health issues of your own.
If you feel like things are getting to be too much, you shouldn’t hesitate to contact a mental health professional to get some help. There are also support groups available to help you with the exact situation you’re facing.
Interacting with other people who are experiencing the same problems as you are, is a great way to address your problems. You might feel like you’re alone in the world, but if you talk to people in a similar situation, you’ll realize that you have support in your struggle.
Be Prepared to Talk About Things That Are Uncomfortable
Addiction and the reasons for it are never going to be comfortable topics for conversation, but if you really want your loved one to recover from addiction, you need expect to talk about these things with them. They might’ve never talked to anyone about the issues that are responsible for their addiction.
If you want to talk to your loved one about their addiction, you need to be prepared for some uncomfortable and terrible things to come up. You might hear about things like sexual abuse. Or you might hear about things your loved one has done while under the influence or have performed in order to obtain drugs.
Reacting badly to these things could have a very negative effect on them. If you want to talk to someone about their addiction and you want them to truly open up to you, you need to be ready to hear some things that you’re not necessarily comfortable hearing.
Ease Their Anxiety About Withdrawal
Anyone who’s an addict is likely to have a lot of anxiety about what the withdrawal process is going to be like, particularly if they’re using a drug like alcohol, heroin, or benzodiazepines. Reassure them that their withdrawal symptoms can be minimized if they go through the appropriate detox and rehab program. Try to focus on the positives, like the things they’ll be able to do once they’re able to get clean.
A lot of rehab centers will use medications to ensure the withdrawal process goes as smoothly as possible. For example, if your loved one is a heroin addict, they might be given a substitute such as methadone or Suboxone to ensure their withdrawal symptoms aren’t too bad.
Do Your Research
It’s important that you do your research to better understand what your loved one is going through. Most people don’t really know much about how illicit drugs actually work. This ignorance can create a disconnect between you and your loved one, meaning they’re more likely to reject your advice.
When you do your research about the drugs your loved one is using, you’ll understand more about what they’re going through and you’ll give yourself more credibility in their eyes. You should also make sure to do your research about the different kinds of rehab programs they could attend.
For example, there are both inpatient and outpatient rehab programs. During an inpatient program, your loved one would live at the rehab center for an extended period of time. This is a great option for those with serious addiction issues, as it’ll allow them to focus 100% on their issues.
On the other hand, there’s also outpatient rehab. This type of rehab means your loved one will be living at home throughout their treatment.
When you understand the treatment options your loved one has, you stand a better chance of making the right decision.
Know How to Convince Someone to Go to Rehab
Knowing how to convince someone to go to rehab is vital. You must have patience; you probably won’t get the results you want straightaway and you won’t be able to force your loved one to go.
The important thing is to persevere and to keep reminding your loved one that there’s another way. Make sure you have a quality facility in mind for your loved one to go to when they finally make the right decision to go to rehab.
If you’d like assistance in looking for a rehab center for your loved one, then get in touch with us today.