How to Help a Loved One Get Into Drug Rehab

Why A Professional Treatment Program Is Essential To Helping Someone With Drug And Alcohol Addiction

Dealing with a loved one’s addiction can be a harrowing experience for concerned family and friends. It can be hard for family members to understand addiction, especially given the unwillingness that many people with substance addiction can display to accept treatment for their condition.

But, as opposed to being a moral issue or a “choice,” substance use disorder should be considered as a disease, a serious mental illness that sometimes requires the help of a certified addiction professional before your loved one is ready to embark on their addiction recovery journey.

Rather than not caring about the effect that his or her substance abuse is having on his or her family, someone with drug addiction often simply does not have the emotional resources to consider the effect that their addiction is having on others. This is because of the all-consuming effect that their substance use is having on their own mental health.

They may be fearful of experiencing painful withdrawal symptoms if they stop their alcohol or drug use, or they may fear learning to live without the drug abuse that has become their central emotional coping mechanism for all of the obstacles life throws at them.

Along with the painful feelings that may have motivated them to start abusing drugs in the first place, they may now also be struggling with guilt and shame for the suffering that their addiction has caused their loved ones, which may only feed a vicious cycle of drug abuse.

However, at addiction treatment centers, caring treatment providers can provide medical advice and formulate an appropriate treatment plan for your loved one. A stay in a treatment facility will offer a person with addiction a controlled and completely drug free environment, where they will be able to slowly process all the painful emotions that they may have been using drugs and alcohol to escape.

An addiction treatment approach will generally involve specialized therapy designed to help your loved one to address these underlying mental health issues, as well as to work through the traumatic experiences that may have fueled their drug or alcohol addiction.

Depending on the patient’s needs, addiction treatment also may incorporate the prescription of whatever psychiatric medication would be appropriate for the patient’s specific mental health condition. It may also involve prescription of an appropriate regimen of medication assisted treatment, which is sometimes prescribed to ease a patient’s physical withdrawal symptoms so that they can focus on the cognitive and emotional aspects of their recovery, especially in the case of drugs like opioid that are known to result in intense physical cravings.

Treatment programs will also teach a person who is struggling with addiction healthier alternative coping mechanisms that they can use rather than resort to substance abuse. They will learn to identify and avoid people, places, and things that might “trigger” them to use drugs, and to pursue the kind of full and meaningful life that will make sobriety an appealing prospect.

Some addiction treatment centers also incorporate activities designed to foster a patient’s holistic wellness, like yoga or horseback riding. Treatment centers might also offer experiential outings and events which can help build community and connections between patients in early addiction recovery and help them to rediscover joy in their new life free of addiction.

Group therapy can also be an invaluable resource as it provides patients a chance to share their experiences of addiction with others who have gone through similar trauma, helping them to feel less alone and often helping them to become a lasting support system for each other through long term alumni and aftercare services.

If you suspect that a friend or family member may be struggling with addiction, you can also read about the warning signs that your loved one has a substance abuse problem here. But if you already have clear evidence that your loved one is in need of substance abuse treatment, there is no time to waste in convincing them to enter a rehab facility.

The longer a person remains in active addiction, the more entrenched their behavior will become, making it harder and harder for them to pursue recovery, and the more likely that they will tragically lose their chance to pursue recovery at all.

As attested to by this report from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, overdoses have been rising steeply since 2013, when dangerously powerful opioid fentanyl entered the drug supply, with 64 percent of last year’s massive overdose death toll thought to involve the substance.

The incredibly deadly nature of this drug means that your loved one’s life may be at stake if they do not receive substance abuse treatment at an appropriate addiction treatment center if they are abusing any illegal substances.

Aside from the risk of acute overdose or a fatal incident caused by behaviors like intoxicated driving, continual abuse of most substances poses a serious threat to long-term physical as well as mental health, even in the case of legal drugs like alcohol. Though it may not be easy, convincing your loved one to commit to a treatment plan may be the best chance you have at saving their life.

How To Help A Loved One Struggling With Substance Abuse

One important role family members can play for someone who is struggling with substance abuse is by serving as a part of their emotional support system. Instead of offering harmful “tough love” or playing an unproductive blame game, you should emphasize how much you care about them, which is why you are so concerned about their well being that you are willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that they pursue treatment options.

However, if your loved one remains in denial that they have a problem, or otherwise unwilling to consider an appropriate rehab program, you may want to seek out the services of a professional interventionist, who can help you develop an intervention plan to break through to your loved one.

They may also be able to help you to find a specific treatment provider best suited to your loved one’s needs, such as a medical provider that is qualified to help patients through acute detox, which can sometimes be physically dangerous depending on the drug that they abused. In particular, alcohol and benzodiazepine withdrawals can lead to potentially fatal symptoms, so it’s important that a patient not try to go cold turkey without first consulting a qualified medical professional.

Involuntarily Committing Someone With Drug Or Alcohol Addiction To A Treatment Facility

Involuntary commitment should always be a last resort if a person is struggling with addiction issues. But, sometimes, compelling them to get help can be the only way to get your loved one to accept the life changing care they need. This is why, if confrontation and/or intervention has failed, it may be necessary to use the Marchman Act to force your loved one into a rehab program.

The Marchman Act is a Florida statute allows a concerned loved one to legally require that loved one to enter a treatment program if they can prove that the person is too incapacitated by an addiction to recognize their need for treatment.

To start this process, the loved one will have to file a Marchman Act petition, after which the court will determine whether the situation of the person with addiction warrants a court mandated stay in a rehab center. However, you will still be responsible for finding a specific treatment center with an available opening for your loved one, as well as for paying for their addiction treatment.

For a more detailed breakdown and step by step guide to what to expect if you initiate the Marchman Act process, you can click here. You can also contact our team of experts to learn everything you need to know about getting your loved one to seek treatment options for their addiction, including pursuing involuntary commitment to treatment centers if it becomes necessary.

For our professional treatment advice, and to learn about our professional interventionist services, you can call our website’s main phone number at 833-497-3808. We will be available to answer calls to the toll free numbers listed on our site 24/7, or you can also use our online chat function to talk to a live agent in real time.