Aunt Sue might like a glass of wine with dinner and Uncle Tom might drink a beer every night, and that is their normal routine. That doesn’t make them addicts or imply that they are abusing drugs.
In fact, it is likely the same behavior that many of their peers have. It might be the same behavior that you have. However, for many Baby Boomers, drug and alcohol abuse disorders are a part of their life, and a lot of these disorders go unrecognized or discussed because we respect older people and don’t question them. It’s time to pay attention and ask questions.
American society tends to promote drug and alcohol interventions for young people and that’s a good thing, but it fails to serve the growing population of older adults with drug and alcohol problems. They are being ignored and they are dying because of it. For their safety and your continued relationship with the older people you love, you need to get them help.
If an older adult in your life is showing signs of a drug or alcohol abuse problem and you want to know what you can do, research is a great place to start. For connections to resources, answers to questions, and treatment recommendations, contact SubstanceAbuse.org at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) and speak with an expert.
Why Baby Boomers?
Baby Boomers are more likely to be prescribed painkillers as they get older.
It’s not surprising that so many older adults develop drinking problems or drug use problems. For one thing, Baby Boomers are part of a generation that has traditionally had very relaxed attitudes about drug use. The swinging sixties are known for their open sexuality and drug use and Baby Boomers were young people during that time. Drug use doesn’t faze them.
In addition, older people tend to develop drug and alcohol problems because of the life changes that accompany growing older. For example, pain medication is more likely to be prescribed to older adults, and they may grow to rely on it. Others may develop an alcohol problem because their drinks now pack more of a punch now that the user is older and that can snowball. Stress is another problem. Failing health, the death of loved ones, and changes in living situation are common as people grow older and these stressors can cause loneliness, anxiety, boredom, and apathy. These are all emotions people will attempt to escape with substance use.
What Are the Results of this Substance Abuse?
In a December 2015 article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers identified a strange trend of increased mortality (from all causes) white non-Hispanic, middle-aged (ages 45-55) Americans between 1999 and 2013. The cause? Substance abuse and emotional distress.
You might wonder how it can be that people living in a time of such impressive medical advances could have their chance of death increase and you would be right to questions it. In fact, in the 15 years this study took place, most other age groups and ethnicities (in addition to white Europeans) saw declines in mortality.
According to Collaborative Research on Addiction at NIH, “The mortality increases paralleled increased self-reports of poor health, pain, psychological distress, and difficulties with activities of daily living (sitting, walking, shopping, socializing with friends) in this population—all of which may be linked to substance abuse.” This also mirrored a rise the use of prescription opioids, which are prescribed to deal with many of the symptoms of aging. However, opioid overdoses are on the rise.
What Can Be Done?
On a medical level, there needs to be more drug and alcohol screening and education at the primary care level. Doctors should be more cautious about handing out prescriptions. But, they also are in the wonderful position of being able to connect with patients and monitor their substance use. Professionals should also offer education.
But, doctors aren’t the only people who can help. Because drug and alcohol abuse in older adults is tied to emotional distress, you can keep an eye on the adults in your life and help them adjust to difficult changes. Don’t be afraid to have a hard conversation about their drug and alcohol use. You could save their life.
For more information about how to connect to older adults in your life and talk about their drug and alcohol use, contact our helpline at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) .
On its own, addiction is a nasty beast to fight. There are numerous factors that can affect the process, and sometimes, things in the person’s life are deeply affected by the addiction. When it is a couple that is addicted, whether it is to the same substance or different ones, the process becomes all the more difficult.
Understanding what can affect the relationship during the recovery process will help with understanding if it is possible for the relationship to survive.
Codependency & Enabling
It is a common in relationships where addiction occurs for there to be a sense of codependency. This means that there is one person involved who aids the addiction, often believing that they are helping the person. In cases where a couple both have an addiction, they may function as codependents for each other.
It might not even be a choice, as addiction often causes a person to not be in control of their thoughts and actions. One might enable the other, encouraging the addiction and helping it grow. Cases like that can impede any chances of recovery, as one might resist and try to dissuade their partner from seeking help.
Treatment Options
Couples can take part in individual and group treatment.
Many treatment plans usually involve not just the addict themselves, but their entire family. According to the NIDA, the process is highly adaptable, and can be modified to fit the needs of the person seeking treatment. With couples who are both seeking treatment, the process can be designed to treat them both individually and together.
Therapy is often included in addiction treatment to address and deal with the specific causes of the person’s addiction. It is also used to help them deal with the stress of the addiction and the recovery process, as well as help them communicate with loved ones.
For couples, it can be a way for them to address what drove each of them into their own addictions, what they did or didn’t do to help, and how they can further support each other in recovery.
Patience
Treatment for addiction can take much more time than it took for the addiction to originally develop. The DEA stresses that each person responds to drugs and other addictive substances differently. It is possible for one half of the relationship could get better faster than the other.
There is the possibility that one could relapse and while the other stays sober, affecting the recovery process for both. Getting sober isn’t going to be instantaneous and you shouldn’t expect it to be. Addiction and its effects are unpredictable and being patient for yourself and your partner can be the best thing for your relationship.
Steps for Taking Responsibility for Your Life and Overcoming Addiction
Worst Case Scenario?
When both parties in a relationship have an addiction, the worst case scenario that can happen for the relationship is that it doesn’t survive. It may not be the ideal goal, but being aware that it is a possibility is really the best way to approach the situation.
Having realistic expectations for the situation, for yourself, and for each other can be quite healthy. If the relationship makes it through addiction and is still going strong in recovery, then congratulations. It’s okay if it that doesn’t happen though, and no one is to blame in that situation.
If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, consider calling us at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) for the opportunity to speak with one of our caring specialists about information on treatment options.
According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, drug addiction is a chronic disease. Fortunately, it is a treatable one. Although some people believe otherwise, drug addiction is not just limited to high school students, after school specials, and colleges.
Many people have adult children who are dependent on these highly addictive substances, sons and daughters who are enslaved by drugs. If you have a son that is addicted to drugs, you need to know how to talk to him about his addiction and getting treatment.
Remember he’s an Adult
Although he’s still your son it is important to remember that he is an adult of his own right. As parents, it is easy to forget that children do grow up, that they become adults and have lives of their own. Adult children might have sons and daughters as well as spouses of their own.
When you talk to him it is important to remember that other people matter in his life and he might not be receptive to you as a parent telling him what to do. When you are talking to him about his drug addiction it is important to remember that he’s and adult. Talking to an adult child who is an addict is a delicate process. It requires some planning.
Talk to Him
Make sure to talk to your son when he’s sober.
There are a few things that you have to consider when talking to your son. One of those things is when to talk to him about his addiction. It is vital that you approach him about treatment at the right time. Unfortunately, the right time is hard to find. There are a few things that you should consider. These are:
- find a quiet time and place
- find a time when he is sober
- find a place where he is not becoming or cannot become intoxicated
- schedule the time to talk to him if you need to
- make sure that he is away from others for a first talk about his addiction
- make a conscious effort to not be angry about his drug use
- make sure that you choose a place where both you and he are comfortable
Most of all make sure that you do not judge him. He most likely still looks up to you as a parent. Although it is extremely difficult not to judge in this situation it is best not to. Your condemnation and judgment might drive him away or worse, further into addiction.
This happens frequently when someone they love judges them and is one of the addict’s biggest fears. By approaching him in a nonjudgmental way, you show him that you love him and can help him through his addiction.
How to Find Him Treatment When you and he are Ready
When you and he are ready, call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) for help. We can assist you and your son to find the treatment that he needs. Call us we can help.
Living with a Loved One Suffering from a Substance Abuse Disorder
It is common knowledge that what starts out as a recreational use of illicit substances can quickly spiral out of control. This is not to say that everyone who ever has a drink of alcohol or smokes marijuana will become an addict, but far too many do. When this happens, according to the National Center on Drug Abuse, there are treatment options for every person and every situation. But, how do you know that you need treatment?
You Feel Out of Control
When it begins to feel like the need for your drug of choice is determining everything that you and every decision that you make it is time to get help.
Your Job is in Jeopardy Because of your Drug Use
If your boss has threatened to fire you, given you poor reviews, or you have missed a considerable amount of work time, your drug use is endangering your employment.
You Have Lost your Job Due to your Drug Use
If drug abuse has lead to you losing your job, it’s time to seek treatment.
If you have allowed drugs to make you lose your job for lack of attendance, tardiness, or being high at work, you have a problem.
You Have Lost Relationships Due to your Drug Use
Addiction takes over your life to the exclusion of everything and everyone else, damaging relationships.
Your Friends Start to Avoid you When you are Drinking or on Drugs
If your use of substances of abuse has driven your friends away, it is a sign that it is time for a change.
Your Family Mentions Treatment or How Out of Control your Drinking or Drug Use is
When those who care about you most tell you that you have a problem, it is time to listen. Family members are often forgiving, even to a fault, so you have to know things are bad if they are mentioning it.
You Have Lost your Family Due to your Drinking or Drug Use
If your substance abuse has reached the point where it is more important than your loved ones it is time to seek help. Family members are the most important people in your life.
You Have Had a More than One Blackout
Blackouts are never a good thing, and when they happen repeatedly you are putting your life in danger. This is a sure sign that your drug or alcohol use is out of control.
It is Interfering with Your Life
Drugs and alcohol will eventually take everything from you, including your life, unless you stop.
You Question Whether you Need Treatment or Not
If you are wondering whether or not you need treatment, then you do. As soon as that thought crosses your mind, it is time to seek out a way to stop your drug or alcohol abuse. Preliminary research into treatment programs often leads to more questions than answers. Don’t be discouraged. Call us at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) . We can answer your questions, and help you find the treatment that you need today.
Drug abuse is at an all-time high, and the dangerous disease of addiction is reaching epidemic proportions. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, there are a variety of ever-evolving treatment options designed to help all addicts beat their substance abuse problems. However, sometimes the biggest hurdle in overcoming addiction is getting people the help that they need. This is because they often tell a number of common lies to avoid treatment.
I Already Quit
The chances of successfully quitting an addictive substance without professional help are very small.
I Don’t Have a Problem
The effects of many drugs cloud judgement, and make it so a user is incapable of recognizing that they really do have a problem.
I Can’t Afford Treatment
There are a number of treatment options that are covered by insurance plans, funded by charitable organizations, subsidized by State and Federal health agencies, or priced on a sliding scale to ensure that treatment is available and affordable to everyone.
I Can Quit Any Time I Want
Drug users will say they need the substance in order to cope with stress.
Once addiction sets in, this disease prevents sufferers from having any control over their drug use.
I’m Too Stressed to Quit
People often use this excuse, claiming that the abused substance helps them through their stress when in reality it contributes to and compounds their stress.
I Can’t Leave Work
Employers are required by law to hold someone’s job if they must take a medical leave. Plus, there are a number of treatment options that don’t force people to take time off of work.
I will Quit After…
Many people tell this lie in an effort to buy themselves time to come up with a better excuse for not seeking treatment.
I am Not Hurting Anyone Else
It is common knowledge that the disease of addiction damages not only the addict, but everyone around them, as well.
I only do it on the Weekends/ at Parties
As addiction grows, drug use escalates. While this may be true at the start, it will not remain that way.
The Doctor Prescribed It
No doctor prescribes medications in such quantities, or with usage directions that damage your ability to function in normal society, or maintain quality of life.
I Do it Because it Makes me Better
Self-medicating is never recommended, and almost never successful. Neither are the ravages of addiction worth momentary increases in performance or productivity.
Everyone is Doing it
In reality, the majority of people do not use any illicit substances.
Excuses Alcoholics and Addicts Make to Continue their Behavior
It’s No Big Deal
Addiction is dangerous and potentially fatal. This is definitely a big deal.
Only Hardcore Addicts Need Treatment
Everyone abusing a drug needs treatment.
Life without the Drug is Boring
There are too many exciting and enjoyable things in life, that don’t involve drugs, to even number. The cycle of pain, shame, and decline known as addiction is far less enjoyable.
Whatever lie someone tells to avoid treatment, the truth is that they need help. If they are someone you care about it might fall on you to make sure that they get this help. Call us today at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) and let us help you, help them.
According to the SAMHSA’s 2015 Behavioral Health Barometer, ”About 8 in 10 individuals (79.9%) with illicit drug dependence or abuse did not perceive a need for treatment for their illicit drug use.” No one sets out to become dependent or addicted to the drugs they use and nearly everyone feels they are in control of their usage to some degree or another. But, when the drudgery of having to use to avoid adverse symptoms of withdrawal or the inability to feel good without using begins, most people think about quitting.
Common Reasons for Seeking Treatment
Unfortunately, even for the most severely addicted, treatment is generally left out of the equation for what they feel they need until their lives are disrupted in some dreadful way. What typically prompts most individuals to begin thinking about making changes and seeking treatment when abusing drugs often involves:
- Episodes of distress such as severe anxiety, depression, thoughts of suicide, uncontrollable anger, mood swings, involvements in dangerous activities and other vulnerabilities, or the inability to take care of basic survival needs
- Critical life events such as an emergency, overdosing, severe illness, assault, loss of a loved one, becoming pregnant, being fired, or being arrested
- Cognitive evaluation or appraisal (weighing the pros and cons of continuing to use or the recognition that unsuccessful attempts to quit require help)
- Recognizing negative consequences and the harm to self or others
- Negative or positive external incentives such as threats of unwanted circumstances or the coercions from spouses/family or courts and/or the support or rewards expected by entering treatment
The Progress of Addiction
People will often seek treatment once they realize how substance abuse is negatively affecting their relationships.
Most drug abusers have no idea of the changes that are going on in their brains and bodies that causes them to adapt their physical feelings, thoughts, emotions, and behaviors around drug abuse reinforcement. It’s actually pretty simple how these problems occur. People use drugs to feel good and with every boost, the brain uses natural mechanisms to accommodate neurotransmitter imbalances and reinforce the rewarding behavior. Repeat exposures cause significant functional or structural changes that worsen over time.
Evidence shows that there is a shift in underlying motivational mechanisms toward addictive progressions in drug abusers that ranges from an impulsive stage of using drugs for pleasure and the rewards of cravings to the compulsive stage of uncontrollable use to find relief. According to the Scripps Research Institute “From initial, positively reinforcing, pleasurable drug effects, the addictive process progresses over time to being maintained by negatively reinforcing relief from a negative emotional state.” The most common of these conditions is the impending dread of withdrawals and the anxiety and cravings that come with it.
Why Treatment is Important
While our brains can heal or adjust as it continuously grows, there needs to be some guidance in treatment therapies for drug abusers to help them retrain pathways and systems of the brain by making positive and healthy lifestyle choices without the interference of drugs. According to the Institute of Medicine (US) “ drug-reinforced behaviors are influenced by multiple factors including the pharmacological properties of a drug and its specific neuronal receptors and effecter systems, the learned behaviors and cognitions established during repeated episodes of drug use, and the environmental cues that accompany drug-seeking and drug-taking.”
Some people can go on using intermittently for years before they suffer a crisis that brings them to a reason for seeking treatment. With anxiety, ambivalence, and an overall sense of hopelessness to change most never get the adequate help they need. Habitual behaviors and maladaptive thought patterns that lead to them can be changed with the appropriate counseling, therapies, and supportive services that treatment provides.
How Treatment Helps
Seeing addiction for what it is as a disease has advanced the methods in which treatment is delivered and the confrontational approaches of the past have been replaced. Regardless of the nature of their conditions, individuals can find compassionate, effective, and life-changing services in drug abuse treatment programs that are continuously evolving in practices and in line with main stream health care services. The SAMHSA has a clear message for that. “Recovery emerges from hope.” Hope that things can be better and hope to live a happy and meaningful life. Don’t let the abuse of drugs take that away from you.
There are many approaches to treatment for substance abuse with each having a personal aspect to overcoming problematic effects, consequences, and behaviors. Combined with counseling and services to address multiple goals and needs, support group therapies in substance abuse treatment programs offer a wide range of possibilities to augment treatment success.
The most commonly recognized group therapy models are psycho-educational, skills development, cognitive behavioral/problem-solving, interpersonal processes, and support groups such as 12-step, mutual aid, faith, or family groups. Together, these groups empower people in their abilities to make positive choices for the decisions that affect their lives by advocating experiential knowledge of addictions, shared concepts and feedback, education, materials, resources, and guidance to the members.
Learning to Change
Many of the compulsions to use drugs and engage in the associated behaviors are mastered through learned experiences and habitual developments that allow the person to continue using substances while others evolve from chemical disruptions that change the way the brain operates. Motivating changes and achieving positive goals is a part of recovery that requires ongoing support after detox and stabilization is accomplished in the clinical sense.
According to the SAMHSA, “The client’s stage of change will dictate which group models and methods are appropriate at a particular time.” These stages range from pre-contemplation or not thinking about changing to; preparing to or taking action to change, maintaining abstinence, or recurrence (relapse or the return to an earlier stage).” It can take a while to get back momentum and confidence, but, with abstinence and supportive therapies, the person can “readapt” in their capabilities to enjoy life without the use of substances.
What Happens in Support Group Therapies?
Recovering addicts learn coping strategies to avoid relapse while attending support group therapy.
In many instances, the individual may be participating in multiple groups at once, serving to augment their recovery efforts as their priorities change over time. Psycho-educational groups are effective in helping people learn about their disorders, need for change, and the avenues they should take toward recovery. According to the SAMHSA, they can also help “families understand the behavior of a person with substance use disorder in a way that allows them to support the individual in recovery and learn about their own needs for change.”
Psycho-educational groups, combined with skills development and cognitive behavioral groups, help individuals learn to identify, avoid, and master internal and external influences that are common triggers to cravings, and relapse. The basic ideas of cognitive-behavioral groups are to help individuals see how situations, thoughts, emotions, physical feelings, and behaviors interact to lead to relative risks of and protections from impulsive substance abuse. Other useful agendas are learning strategies to avoid people, places, and things that could lead to relapse and stress management techniques to cope with negative circumstances through meditation, exercise, relaxation, nutrition, and spiritual development.
Advantages of Group Therapies
Generally determined to be open and honest with circumstances and common concerns that affect substance abusers in their real-life struggles, the benefits of support group therapies can far outweigh those that might be attainable through a one-on-one relationship with a professional counselor. Contributing to one another’s recovery, the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment states that, “Groups also appear to be more effective than other approaches for clients who have “more severe levels of substance use, greater levels of negative affect, and greater perceived deficits in coping skills.”
Capturing perspectives from people of all walks of life and at various severity levels in their addictions, support group therapies enhance recovery by:
- Helping to achieve and sustain abstinence while forming future plans and goals
- Reducing isolation and drawing members into the culture of recovery
- Emphasizing personal relevance in healthy lifestyle changes and behaviors that promote integrity and moral commitments
- Helping individuals move forward in problem resolutions
- Enhancing beliefs in the ability to change
- Promoting positive attitudes and feelings toward behavioral changes and the expectation of hope in the outcomes
- Improving social functioning capabilities and relationships with significant others
Other Advantages of Group Support
Bolstering the efforts of each member, support groups strengthen the ability to manage negative thoughts and emotions while sorting out problematic behaviors and learning to manage living soberly on a day-to-day basis. As members build or rebuild reliable sources of encouragement and witness the recovery of others, hope for their own recovery can be restored and continuously maintained through participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. Relapse prevention is a primary goal for support group members, but, relapse is a likely event which makes the support and non-judgmental acceptance from others struggling to recover all the more powerful.
Many people who spend their time drinking or doing drugs find that they are not quite sure why they continue to hurt themselves like this. According to the National Library of Medicine, you could be a dual diagnosis patient. Most people who suffer from a substance abuse problem find that they are dual diagnosis patients. They also find themselves in somewhat of a chicken and the egg problem, unable to determine what came first.
Mental Health and Substance Abuse
People who have a substance abuse problem often also have a mental health problem. When this happens it is very difficult to tell whether you have a substance abuse problem that caused a mental health issue or a mental health issue that caused a substance abuse problem. Since the two are so closely linked, it is difficult to figure out which is causing which. There is a proven link between substance abuse and mental health, this link is often referred to simply as dual diagnosis. Scientists are studying this link and what causes it.
Self-Medication
Having an untreated mental illness often leads to self-medicating behaviors.
Far too often, people suffer from misdiagnosed or undiagnosed mental illness. These individuals often don’t know what is wrong with them, only that something isn’t right. Unfortunately these problems build to a point where the sufferer turns to illicit substances or non-prescribed medication for relief. This, in turn, creates dependence and an addiction disorder.
Increased Risk
People with mental illnesses are far more likely to develop an addiction to a substance of abuse. It is suspected that this is because the majority of mental illnesses are caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, and most drugs, especially in large doses, alter brain chemistry. In this case the use of drugs gives mentally ill people the false feeling of being “normal”. However, the negative effects of dependence and addiction far outweigh the temporary and often false benefits of drug use.
How to Recognize Dual Diagnosis in Yourself and Others
There are a few signs that you or someone else may have a dual diagnosis. If you find yourself using drugs that are not prescribed to you by a doctor in order to feel “normal”, this is a sign. If you have anxiety, depression, or insomnia that only seems to be helped by illicit drugs, this is a sign. If you feel like you have to use drugs to escape pain, fear, or your own thoughts, you probably have a duel diagnosis. These signs can be very subtle though, and require verification by a medical professional.
Seeking Help for Mental Health Issues When You Have a Substance Abuse Problem
Where to Find Help
There are a number of options available that can help you with this duel diagnosis. Drug treatment centers, counselors, and even hospitals can help you detox and seek treatment for mental health issues. There are so many options, in fact, that it can all be overwhelming. That’s where we come in. Give us a call at 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) We can answer your questions and help you find the care that you need.
If you or a loved one are on the path to recovery from drug addiction, there will be many challenges you face along the way and it’s important to know how to overcome them. With the right mindset and lifestyle changes, you can create a new future for yourself free from drug addiction and the secondary effects that it causes on your life.
Find a Support Network to Hold You Accountable
Family and friends are important during this time, but there is also the fact that they may not know exactly what you are experiencing. It can make all the difference to find a support group of individuals who know what you have gone through and are still going through, and can encourage you through it.
You will be able to talk to them about any temptations or cravings you have had for the drugs, and they can celebrate your victories with you, as well as offer advice for the next time those cravings come around.
Your family, friends, and even the people you may barely know from your support group all care about your recovery, so let them encourage you through this and help keep you accountable. According to NIDA, improving personal relationships is a major step towards recovery.
Limit Exposure to Triggers
A support group will provide you with a social network of people who will encourage your recovery.
This often means making drastic changes to your old lifestyle, such as avoiding old hangout spots or distancing yourself from harmful friendships. By limiting your exposure to these triggers, you can mentally prepare yourself for the few occasions that you may face temptation or cravings.
If you don’t make lifestyle changes, however, then the temptations will be more consistent and draining on your energy. Once you have eliminated many sources of temptation, you can focus your willpower on the few scenarios that you can’t always avoid, such as using prescription drugs to treat pain or similar situations.
It will take a lot of focus and energy to not give in if you are again exposed to the drugs that you have abused in the past, but it is possible.
Combat the Cravings with Other Coping Methods
To figure out what works for you specifically, you may need to talk through it with a friend or therapist. If the reason you turned to substance abuse was as a de-stressor, it may benefit you to find calming activities or hobbies that you enjoy and can engage in whenever you feel cravings for the substance.
According to SAMHSA, it is important to find your sense of purpose among the community, whether that be through volunteering, creative endeavors, your job, or other avenues. Having these other priorities and activities can help take your mind off of the temptations and focus on the healthy lifestyle that you can now maintain.
If you are a loved one are going through recovery, or are interested in starting on that path, just call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to speak with a caring specialist about any questions or concerns you may have. We can help you get the treatment you deserve.
If your friend or loved one has a substance abuse issue, how far does it get before you know that it is time to intervene? This may be a difficult approach, since you may be scared of offending them or hurting the relationship, but interventions are for their own good. How do you know when it’s time?
1. It Interferes with their Family
According to NIDA, over time you may see your friend’s behavior interfering with the functioning within their family, the workplace, and the broader community overall. Once their addiction begins to impact such important aspects of their life, such as within the family, an intervention may be necessary to get them back on track.
It is important to step in before they completely ruin any family structure or break connections, and if they have already passed this point, then it is definitely time for an intervention.
2. It Impedes them at Work
Addiction can cause a drastic change in mood and personality.
The other place where an addiction may show serious consequences is in the workplace. If the addict continues to let their addiction impede their work effort or results, this could consequently end up with them losing their job. An intervention should occur as soon as it begins to be a problem in the workplace, so that they may still hold on to their job after recovery.
3. The Addiction Effects their Mood or Personality
Do they seem like a completely different person now? That could be due to the chemical changes in their brain that are brought on by the addiction. If your friend or loved one begins to show signs of depression or has changed personalities drastically, it may be time for an intervention in order to restore them to their former self.
This process may take a long time, and they could still experience some of the effects on their mood for a while, but it isn’t safe to let them continue their substance abuse when it has such drastic effects.
4. They Say They Will Recover but Take No Measures to do so
Perhaps the individual has promised you that they are doing what they can, but you can’t see evidence of any changes or improvement in their life. It may be time then to step in and put a little emphasis on the situation, and perhaps provide accountability to their recovery so that you can monitor their progress and keep them on track.
Living with a Loved One Suffering from a Substance Abuse Disorder
5. Their Addiction is Life-Threatening
If all the other warning signs have passed without notice, and it is now evident that continued substance abuse could endanger the individual’s life, then intervention is absolutely necessary. In these cases, NCBI suggests that brief interventions be linked with a referral to treatment options and therapy, as the individual may not be able to stop the addiction completely on their own.
If you or a loved one are facing addiction and have any questions or concerns, simply call 800-487-1890 (Who Answers?) to speak with a caring specialist who can walk you through the next steps.