Helping an addict too much could enable drug abuse
Addiction treatment is a process that helps addicts change their conduct, attitude and actions. It is also a time when recovering addicts recognize how their actions affect not only on themselves, but also those around them.
During the treatment process, it is important for those around recovering users to be strong and to support the changes made for sobriety. It can be difficult to know how to help a loved one get and stay clean from drug abuse, because the desire to help a loved one compels many people to take responsibility away from the addict. In other words, helping an addict too much could enable drug abuse. According to an article published by Psych Central, enabling involves removing the consequences of addiction from the user either by solving problems or taking the consequences off the addict and upon oneself.
It is easy to see how enabling behaviors cause problems, but it may be difficult to see this problem when an addict is in treatment. Enabling behaviors undermine addiction treatment in many ways, so learn how you enable addiction to help your loved one avoid drug abuse for the long haul.
Limits to Helping an Addicted Love One
The University of Pennsylvania Health System states that, to stop enabling addiction, the family and friends of an addict must establish boundaries in their relationships with the drug user. Also, it is important to understand that the addiction is a separate issue from the addict, so be sure to distinguish the person from her problem to break enabling behaviors during treatment.
For example, these are some of the healthy boundaries that you could establish to help an addicted love one get clean:
- Don’t clean up the consequences – This act can range from simple tasks, such as physically cleaning up after the addict, to more serious ones, such as constantly bailing him out of jail or paying all of his fines
- Limit the financial support – While each case has unique circumstances, it is often possible to help an addict without providing his money for more drugs. Losing a job and struggling financially is also a powerful incentive to seek help to get clean.
- Protect yourself and others – An addict under the influence of drugs is a hazard, because he could engage in dangerous or violent behaviors. Sometimes decisive action is needed to avoid these dangers, particularly when there are young ones in the household. Although it might appear harsh to leave the addict alone during certain times, this choice can be a strong incentive to make her recognize the severity of addiction.
If you follow these steps, you can come up with your own boundaries to avoid enabling your loved one’s addiction. By focusing on the goal of recovery and constantly enforcing your decisions, you can accomplish much, especially once the addict accepts help. Limit enabling behaviors to help an addict realize the consequences of his actions and the impact his behavior has on the lives of himself and his loved ones.
Family Intervention to Help an Addicted Loved One
According to the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, addiction interventions that operate well have a 90 percent success rate, which means they compel the addict to accept addiction treatment.
Running an intervention correctly takes work and experience, so consider hiring a professional to conduct this pivotal meeting. Most importantly, a professional interventionist is an experienced mediator, so she can help family and friends encourage recovery. Experienced interventionists can be sources of knowledge about enabling behaviors and how to avoid them; some interventionists even offer their services to support the family during the addict’s early recovery. This support helps her assess the entire family’s progress and detect when one member of the family is enabling relapse.
Even though an intervention is a powerful tool, years of practice have shown that it takes time to prepare an intervention with the the addict’s specific circumstances in mind. Consider the different intervention approaches to choose the most effective one for your loved one.
These approaches continue to be a topic of research. For example, the National Institute on Drug Abuse funded a study of web-based intervention with positive results. This method is different from traditional interventions, as it consists of an education system during the period that the addict is in treatment. With this method, patients tend to stay in treatment and stay sober for longer.
How to Help an Addicted Loved One from Home
You can obtain more information and support for an addicted loved one without leaving your home. Call our toll-free, 24 hour helpline to receive free support from our admissions coordinators; they can help you find the right program for you or someone close to you, including intervention services and family counseling. Remember to ask about better values for rehab and insurance information. Our staff are here to help you, so call now for instant support.
