Watching someone that you genuinely care about go through any type of alcohol or drug addiction can be heartbreaking. It gets even more so when you realize that the individual in question doesn’t want to seek help for their addiction issues. You might start to feel helpless and over time, that feeling of helplessness may turn into anger. What should you do when the person that you care so much about doesn’t want to get help?
Try Talking to Them
You can try talking to the individual in hopes that you might say something that will resonate with them. However, it’s important to remember that your decision to speak to this person might actually have the opposite effect. In short, it could cause the person to go on the defensive. This is especially true if they’re already struggling with their addiction issues and they have a great deal of fear or shame as a direct result of them. Therefore, your approach should be completely non-judgemental. It’s fine to show that you care about someone. However, it’s not fine to pass judgment on another person. If you choose to take that route, you’re almost guaranteed to ensure that they won’t be seeking treatment anytime in the near future. That’s largely because any person with addiction issues who is approached in this manner is likely to go on the defensive in a major way. They’re probably not going to want to listen to anything you have to say. The truth of the matter is that it could make the entire problem worse than it already is.
Consider Joining a Support Group
As an alternative to talking to someone who is suffering from addiction, you might consider joining a support group of your own. People routinely ask whether or not it’s necessary for them to join a support group when they are not the ones suffering from an addiction. You may not be addicted yourself, but you are suffering because of that addiction. Joining a support group doesn’t mean that you’re admitting any type of guilt in the matter, nor does it mean that you’re saying you’re too weak to handle the situation. It simply means that you’re finding a group of people who are going through a similar situation as yourself. In that, it’s often possible to start to work through the issues that you feel as a direct result of being around someone who has an addiction. If you can learn to process the way you feel in a healthy manner, you can have an improved quality of life. Regardless of what the addicted individual chooses to do, you’re giving yourself the best opportunity to develop healthy coping mechanisms instead of fuming in anger or developing growing resentment.
It May be Time to Seek Therapy for What You’re Going Through
If the addict in question is someone especially close to you or the addiction has been going on for quite some time, it may be time for you to seek therapy from a licensed professional for your own needs. This is a step up from seeking camaraderie from a support group. There is no question about it, addiction impacts the entire family. The thing is, it tends to impact different individuals in different ways. If you’re having an especially difficult time dealing with the situation, therapy may be a good idea. In some cases, it is beneficial to both seek professional therapy and join a support group so that you can maximize the level of outside support you have.
Understand That You Can’t Force Someone Else to Get Help
Unfortunately, you cannot force someone who doesn’t want to get help to do so. Anyone who is suffering from an alcohol or drug addiction has to decide that they need help on their own. There may be a number of reasons that this person isn’t ready to seek help:
- They may be fearful of the treatment process.
- This person may be afraid of what life without drugs or alcohol will feel like.
- They may not fully realize the severity of their addiction.
If you still have questions, you can always contact a local support group or treatment center and find out which options are available to you. Even if your loved one isn’t ready to seek help, that doesn’t mean you can’t do so. Call us at 833-610-1174.