Addiction is a chronic and progressive disease that only becomes worse over time without professional treatment. Unfortunately, many people who suffer from substance abuse issues have a hard time accepting the help they need. If someone you love suffers from addiction, you are probably familiar with them refusing to receive help despite facing consequence after consequence due to their drug or alcohol use.

Watching your loved ones suffer from addiction and not knowing how to help them can be devastating. All you want to do is make sure that they are safe and healthy, but how can you do that when they are refusing to go to rehab? While you cannot fix their addiction by yourself, there are some things you can do to motivate them to make the right decision.

One of the ways you can help an addicted loved one is by staging a professional intervention. An addiction intervention can help your addicted loved one learn how to overcome addiction, even if they refuse treatment at first.

What is an Addiction Intervention?

It is difficult to watch a loved one struggle with addiction. Sometimes, a direct and heart-to-heart conversation can start the road to recovery. However, the person who struggles with addiction often has a hard time seeing that they have a problem.

When your loved one is having a hard time seeing that their substance abuse is a problem, a more direct approach might be needed. You may have to join forces with other family members and a professional interventionist to take action through a formal intervention.

An addiction intervention is a carefully planned process that involves the family of an addict and a professional. You and your family members will write out statements to read to your addicted loved one in hopes that your emotional appeal will convince them to attend treatment.

The intervention will:

• Provide specific examples of damaging behavior and the impact it had on you and your loved ones
• Offers a pre-planned treatment program with clear steps, goals, and guidelines
• Explains what each person will do if your addicted loved one refuses treatment

3 Ways an Addiction Intervention Can Help Your Loved One

Interventions are designed to persuade your addicted loved one to take part in addiction treatment. However, there are other benefits that your loved one can receive through the intervention process. The 3 main ways an intervention can help your loved one includes knowing that they have your support, receiving boundaries that they must respect, and an opportunity to attend addiction treatment.

Here are three key ways that an addiction intervention can benefit your loved one.

1. Support From Loved Ones

When someone suffers from addiction, they often feel alone and become isolated from their friends and families. If your loved one is feeling alone or has isolated themselves from you and the family, it might be because they do not feel supported. This is usually of no fault of your own, however, loneliness and isolation are some of the largest factors that contribute to the cycle of addiction.

When you stage an intervention, you read out statements that explain how you feel about your loved one and why you need them to stop using drugs. Usually, your statement will include loving and supportive comments that show your loved one you still care for them and support them no matter what. This can help them feel less alone and allow them to receive the support they need to overcome the grasp of addiction.

2. Enforced Boundaries and Consequences

One of the biggest mistakes you can make for your addicted loved one is to allow them to behave however and do whatever they want. This permits them to continue engaging in harmful behaviors related to their substance abuse, showing them that it is okay to continue with their addiction. When your loved one never faces any consequences for their actions, they will continue to think that their behavior is acceptable.

Thankfully, a vital aspect of addiction interventions is to create boundaries and uphold them, giving out consequences when boundaries are crossed. If your loved one refuses treatment, you will probably have a boundary such as not allowing them to live in your home as long as they refuse treatment. Having such a significant consequence could be the push your loved one needs to go to addiction rehab.

3. The Opportunity to Get Treatment

Lastly, the most obvious way an addiction intervention can help your loved one is by providing them with the opportunity to go to treatment and create a better life for themselves.

Whether they agree to go to treatment after the intervention or not, they will always know that you will help them get into a rehab program in the future. This makes them more likely to reach out to you for help when they need it the most.

Get Connected With a Professional Interventionist

If your loved one suffers from addiction and is refusing to go to rehab, it may be time to consider hosting an intervention. Interventions can save lives by providing people with the cold hard facts about their addiction and convincing them to attend treatment now, instead of waiting for rock bottom.

Contact Addiction Intervention today to get connected with a professional interventionist.