Drug addiction is a chronic brain disease which alters your way of thinking. Helping a drug addict can be very challenging because addiction tends to overpower all kind of motivation. The addict may not be ready to accept that they are having problem, secondly even if they are, they may feel awkward to discuss it with you, thirdly even if they are ready to share, they may not be ready to get the treatment. So before helping an addict, you have to be mentally and emotionally charged for these hurdles. Well, there is no hard and fast rule to get to your goal. Now you have to look for the right way to help the person in suffering. Here is a list of 10 ways which can help you to help the drug addict.
1. Relieve the Stress of Addict
Drug abuse often stems from misguided attempts to manage stress. Most of people who are unable to handle pressure and fight the stress in life, resort to drug-help. Though it provides quicker relief, but in reality, it degrades your tolerance level, your ability to fight stressful situation. But there are healthier ways to keep the stress level of addict in check. You can opt for suitable exercises, meditation, breathing exercises etc for addicts.
2. Drug Detox
Drug detox is a process that removes from the body the substances it has been dependent on to that point. to be frank it is quite uncomfortable process, but the most successful method found. Drug detoxification only deals with the physical dependency and addiction to drugs, it does not address the psychological aspects of drug addiction. The addict need to enroll in some rehab programs.
3. Constant Support from Family Members
You must encourage the family support to the addict. They are invaluable assets for the recovery. Don’t let him feel deprived of love and strength.
4. Encourage Social Activities
Most of the drug addicts tend to be loner. They don’t want to mingle with others. You must expose them to healthy hobbies and activities, such as team sports, get-togethers or parties. The more they become social and engaged, the less they will feel alone and require the drugs to satisfy their pacify their cravings.
5. Choose Rehabilitation Programs
While each drug produces different physical effects, all abused substances share one thing in common: repeated use can alter the way the brain looks and functions. So once you are able to convince the addict, you can start contacting different rehabilitation clinics and inquire about their services, schedule and how they handle relapses. You should be clear about the issue and its signs.
6. Reduce Drug Dosage
Some effective intervention shows may motivate the addict to leave the drugs completely, if not leave then definitely reduce the amount of intake. This would be a great sign of improvement. Take it for granted you will not be able to control his addiction in one go. This will happen slowly for sure. You have to keep a check on his dosage. You can be a little strict with this but don’t lose the trust of your addict friend. Be ready to face relapses in addict, you can get him proper medication for those events. You can continue reducing the intake until he leaves it all.
7. Hire an Intervention Specialist
Once the addict becomes comfortable with you, he may give your suggestions a thought. You can hire a intervention specialist depending on the signs and symptoms of drug addiction. He can suitably stage an intervention show/play demonstrating how the abuse has impacted him and his near and dear ones. An addict might not care about self-destructive behaviors, but seeing the pain on others can be a powerful motivator for seeking help.
8. Find out the Signs and Symptoms
People who use drugs tend to show signs of drug abuse in every aspect of their lives. It’s common for an addict to miss work, neglect family obligations and have financial problems. You might notice a sense of irresponsibility in him. You might notice a change in his sleeping patterns, some may become insomniac, some may sleep for longer duration. The physical symptoms vary from person to person.
9. Communication
Gradually find some suitable time to talk with him about the problem just like any friend would do. You need to know certain things like the drug which he is addicted to, how did he got addicted, how mad he is about it and so on so forth. He must be able to talk about the secrets. This may take longer as the addict may not tell you everything at once. Just give him time to open with you.
10. Build Trust
To get started with, you need to first spend time with the addict, gradually build trust between you. This may seem easy to say but harder to establish. While doing this, avoid lecturing, criticizing, nagging him as it may appear that you are trying to control him. Let him be himself.
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