How to Help someone who is Struggling with Drug Abuse

Addiction is a challenging condition which affects more than just the addict. Addiction can cause strain on relationships because of the addict’s actions, financial difficulties, legal issues, and the constant uphill battle of providing for a loved one who has addiction problems.
It can be heart-breaking to see a loved one suffer through the effects of substance abuse. Perhaps you’re pondering how you can best assist them in overcoming their substance misuse problems.
The time may have come for them to end their substance misuse, and they may be looking for guidance on how to do so. A drug addict can get help in a variety of different ways.
Here, we’ll discuss what to expect if a loved one is struggling with addiction and how to help if someone has a drug problem. South Africa is home to a burgeoning population of recovering addicts, counsellors, and specialists, making it an excellent setting for alcohol rehabilitation centresGet in touch with us for more information on our long term rehab centre.

Learn as much as you can about their addiction

How to help someone Who Is struggling With Drug Abuse
How to help someone Who Is struggling With Drug Abuse
How to help someone Who Is struggling With Drug Abuse

How can you help someone with substance abuse? The first step is understanding how they got there in the first place. There are a variety of factors that lead to a person’s first experiment with drug use. Many people who suffer from conditions like depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder use substances to dull the emotional agony of these conditions. Some people may be misdiagnosed and use medications to handle specific symptoms, while others are aware they have a mental health issue but are unable to find alternative means of coping, a practise known as self-medication. Others use drugs to alter their mood, join a social group, or cope with feelings of boredom or discontent. Some people even become addicted to drugs or alcohol while their doctors try to help them with their health problems.

More than a quarter of those prescribed opioids for pain relief, for instance, are predicted to develop an opioid use disorder.
Addiction has many environmental and genetic influences, but its precise causes are still unclear.
One individual may be able to take substances sometimes with no ill effects, while another may discover that even occasional usage swiftly escalates into compulsion and addiction, a very dark pit from which they may feel unable to emerge.
Understanding the root causes of their addiction will help you to act with compassion while also being able to recognise potential triggers, and guide them through their struggle with addiction as you learn how to help someone who has a drug problem.

How to help someone Who Is struggling With Drug Abuse
How to help someone Who Is struggling With Drug Abuse

Manage your expectations

Every person has their own unique characteristics. For one person, recovery could mean never using drugs again. For someone else, it can require tapering off drugs in a systematic way. Being too rigid in your expectations during the recovery process may cause you to feel like a failure, and also cause your loved one who is struggling with substance abuse to withdraw from you altogether.

Encourage them to seek treatment

Some people are able to kick their drug habit on their own, but those odds improve when they have a strong support system.
In an effort to help them seek the necessary treatment for their addiction, it may prove indispensable to provide support during that first phone call, attend all the required therapy sessions, and become a stable part of their peer support group.

Help them to understand their co-occurring issues

Your loved one’s drug use was a symptom of deeper issues that won’t go away just because they quit using. A person who has turned to drugs as a means of coping with mental health problems like anxiety or depression should seek out alternative methods of resolving these problems.
Both the addiction and the mental health problem must be addressed simultaneously if they are to achieve a lasting recovery.

Support them in forming new, positive habits

When a loved one stops using drugs, they may find they have a great deal of free time on their hands.
Motivate them to find new ways to use this time in a manner that gives them a renewed sense of purpose, and you’ll lessen the likelihood that they’ll relapse.
Examples of activities that might not induce negative triggers include learning a new skill, engaging in positive adrenaline-inducing activities such as hiking or rock-climbing, and spending time in nature.
A recovering addict will have to learn coping mechanisms to deal with drug cravings and relapse triggers.
In the end, individuals must take responsibility for their own sobriety, but you can help them by refocusing on other activities or encouraging them to learn how to stay strong through periods of temptation.

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