Patrick Meninga

Addiction Help - What You Need to Know

How to get help for addiction and help others who are struggling with addiction.

For the most part, getting help for addiction will involve contacting either professional services of some sort or a 12 step treatment program. That is what is available out there when it comes to getting help for addiction.

The professional services will include things such as in-patient and residential treatment centers that might include a full medical detox as well. But in addition to treatment, there is also help to be had in the form of counseling and group therapy. Many people might use these types of services after they leave treatment as a form of aftercare.

Then there are the 12 step fellowships, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. These programs consist of regular meetings that can serve as a support system for the recovering addict. The degree of success that people have with these fellowships varies quite a bit but there is no doubt that you can find a ton of support at the meetings. In other words, help is available through this outlet even if you do not particularly like this program of recovery. 12 step programs dominate the recovery industry so that is what is available out there. If you want to find a network of recovering addicts or alcoholics then you will have to look really hard to find it outside of these fellowships.

If you are trying to help others who are struggling with addiction then this is another matter entirely. It can be quite a struggle to get someone else to take action and do something about their problem and ultimately you will find that we cannot really change anyone, only ourselves. But we can influence their behavior and their decisions over the long run by becoming more conscious of how we interact with them. In particular, we need to stop enabling people if we play some role in their drug or alcohol use. This includes bailing them out of problem situations or covering up for them if they screw up because of their drinking or using. We can have a impact on their life by deciding not to support their addiction. This is difficult and takes practice on your part because in many cases it seems like we are being mean or cruel if we stand aside and let an addict fall on their face. Unfortunately this is what some addicts need in order to start considering the possibility of change. If they don't experience any pain then they will not be moved to change. So we learn in trying to help others that we should not deny the addict of their pain. This does not mean that we need to go out of our way to trip them up or be mean to them - instead we just have to get out of their way and let them endure the natural consequences of their actions. This is the best behavior that we can engage in regarding the addict and it is the only truly supportive role we can play in getting them to look at their addiction and possibly change. Unless we can do this and allow them to feel their own pain and suffer their own consequences then we are not truly supporting the idea of them making a real change in their life.

Helping a struggling addict is not easy and for most people it is counter-intuitive. The key is to help them only when they agree to seek professional help for their addiction and not give in to other attempts that are merely manipulation on their part. We can still make a difference in the life of an addict but usually it is not a direct difference. Instead we must change our own behavior so as not to deny them of their pain or consequences in their life. This is the only way to really help the addict and will eventually nudge them towards making a real change for themselves.

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