Addiction can impact people unexpectedly and can transform your loved one into a person you barely recognize. As a result, you need to know how to help a loved one who doesn’t want help. First of all, we’ll discuss why people with obvious drug problems don’t want help. Then, we’ll help you understand the nature of an intervention and how a hands-on approach to rehab may help.
Why Some People Deny Help
Watching a loved one go through addiction is a traumatic experience, mainly if they refuse help. You’ve seen them decay physically, suffer from legal and financial problems, and get stuck in a terrible place. So, why do they refuse help? Often, people with addictions cannot see their problem. Some believe that they have control of the situation. They may change emotionally in ways that make them avoid treatment.
For example, studies find that people with drug abuse disorders experience mood swings, changes in perception, and emotional problems that drug use reinforces. As a result, they may not think that they have a problem at all. However, others who refuse help are afraid to admit that they have a problem. Getting help would be a confession that they are out of control of their lives and behaviors.
As a result, you may struggle to learn how to help a loved one who doesn’t want help. Often, a direct and dramatic approach may be necessary. For example, interventions have become a powerful way to confront a person with a drug abuse disorder. While staging an intervention may be hard, it can save lives.
How to Help a Loved One Who Doesn’t Want Help: Intervention May Be Necessary
An intervention is a powerful way to help your loved one face their addiction. You’ll gather people who have been affected by their behaviors and force them to see what their drug abuse is doing. During an intervention, you’ll follow many steps, including:
- Talking openly about what drug abuse has caused
- Detailing instances in which substance abuse changed the person
- Analyzing ways that the person has changed with drug use
- Discussing possible treatment options
- Placing an ultimatum on the loved one
The last step here is the toughest. You’ll have to put your foot down and create consequences for your loved one. Often, these include alienating them from the family, cutting off financial support, or even kicking them out of the house. When faced between a rock and a hard place, most people will choose treatment in this situation.
Treatments That Can Help With Addiction
If you finally convince your loved one to get help, there are many treatment methods available. Thankfully, addiction care has expanded exponentially over the years to become a more consistent and healing care option. For starters, your loved one will go through detoxification, often in a residential or partial hospitalization program. This process includes medications that decrease a person’s symptoms of withdrawal to make them more manageable.
If your loved one is afraid of the pain of withdrawal and refuses rehab, make sure to talk to them about the process of healing detox. If they are fearful of doing it alone without help, consider family therapy care during their inpatient treatment. This process lets you and others come to the facility to work with them on specific treatments. Many families regain a stable interaction using this care option.
As you can see, learning how to help a loved one who doesn’t want help isn’t impossible. By honestly discussing care with your loved one, you can ease them into treatment. Keep an even hand during this process, though, to avoid complications. Pure fear can be hard to combat, and you need to be a loving person to help them get through their care correctly.
Let Us Help Your Loved One
If you still aren’t sure how to help a loved one who doesn’t want help, call 1-866-824-5193 today. At Atlantic Recovery Center, we provide a myriad of care options, including aftercare treatment. Our focus is on creating a positive environment in an intimate facility. In this way, we can provide comprehensive and nuanced care that your loved one needs. Verify your insurance to get started on helping your loved one reset their life.