Don’t Wait Around for Addiction—Act Now
Many people find it uncomfortable to talk about addiction, another person’s choices and behaviour. That being said, many people also have friends, family or even partners that they see drinking or doing drugs.
Should you wait?
Due to this discomfort, and the ideas that people need to make their own choices, or that experimentation is just a phase, often the best moment to help is long gone when people suddenly realise that they truly need to do something to help.
Waiting for addiction to be very apparent or a big problem, is waiting too long. Once a person is fully dependent it takes a lot more to do something about it. If you catch the problem before it has time to fully develop then you are giving the person a much higher chance of being able to kick the habit themselves as well as saving them all the physical and mental issues that come later with addiction.
One thing to keep in mind is that most people will usually make a concerted effort at keeping their drug or alcohol problem a secret. That means if you see enough to suspect something, the whole truth is probably a lot, lot worse.
What should you do about it?
The heavier the addiction the harder it is to overcome, so what should you do about it? Well, talk to them about it.
1. Try talking to them at a time when they are sober,
not drunk, not stoned and not high. You are much more able to have a real and rational conversation with them in a sober state.
2. Be prepared for the fact that it is frequently a difficult thing to admit:
they may be evasive, hostile or tell outright lies to you. They will probably not yet have faced the reality of their situation, and will try to pass it off as not a big deal, have a go at you, blame someone else and so on. Just remember that is why you are there, having the conversation.
3. Have a good communication about it, don’t be accusative.
Invite their participation, don’t just talk at them. Don’t get into accusations, just be truthful and specific. Hear their side, and stay calm. See if you can gently bring the true situation to their attention. Once you have done that, it opens the door to handling something.
Each conversation is going to be different, and you will know the best way to talk to your loved one but remember that not talking to them, is not being kind and considerate; it’s letting them down.
