Alcohol is currently the top drug problem in the United States, while drug overdoses are the top reason for accidental deaths — in 2015, there were over 50,000 lethal overdoses. If your loved one suffers from a drug or alcohol addiction, the pain of watching them struggle is perhaps one of the hardest things to endure as a family. You want them to be safe and healthy above all else. In many cases, they’re not always open to the suggestion of a drug rehab program, but this type of program is one of the only things that can really help get them on the path to recovery. So how can you tell from the early stages that they need help? And how do you get them the help they need? How do you find the best drug rehab program for them?
What’s the Problem and How Do We Fix It?
For the almost 14 million Americans who struggle with their drinking habits and the over 20 million Americans with a substance abuse disorder, there’s no easy answer on how to “fix” it. Many believe there’s nothing to fix. However, over 10% of children in the United States live with a parent who struggles with alcoholism, which can create an unsafe environment for the child — and may have an influence on the cycle continuing. And, almost half of adults in the United States say that one (or more) of their relatives has some type of drinking problem.
If you’ve caught your loved one lying about the extent of his or drinking problem — or found illegal drugs on their person or in their room — it’s time to have a serious conversation about what comes next. If their behavior has been erratic, you’ve noticed shifts in their personality, or they’ve been arrested for drinking or driving under the influence just one too many times, these are all signs that something might be wrong.
How Can You Get Your Loved One to Enter a Drug Rehab Program?
It’s important to note that in some cases, you can’t. If your loved one is a legal adult and refuses to go to a rehab center, you can’t force them — although some states are adopting laws that it make this legal. A good first step is getting all the information you can about about their addiction. Plan an intervention — and even better, get a professional interventionist to come in and do it. That is often more powerful than doing it yourself.
It can be difficult, but you need to strive to be as nonjudgmental as possible. Show your loved one that you support them, but explain how their actions are affecting — and possibly harming — those around them. It may take multiple tries to get them into recovery, but once they agree, make sure you have the means to get them into an addiction treatment center immediately. This can help minimize the chances that they’ll change their minds and that they won’t go on one last spree before leaving.
How to Find the Best Rehab Centers For Your Loved One
When choosing a drug rehab program, you want to take into consideration what they consider their success rates. Is it people successfully finishing the program? The amount of time they stay clean or sober afterwards? Your loved one could finish a 28-day program and go right back to using afterwards, if the program doesn’t click.
Figure out if a short-term or a long-term program is going to be better for your loved one — talk to different programs and have them walk you through their process. Programs with nutritional aspects built in or methods to alleviate or soothe physical cravings often have the best success rates. It’s also always useful if the program incorporates coping skills for once the patient is out of rehab — what happens if they’re offered drugs or alcohol again? What can they draw on to resist?
If your loved one is struggling with an addiction, a drug rehab program might be exactly what they need to get them recovering in a healthy and safe way.