How to Relate to Someone with an Addiction

Watching a loved one destroy their lives through drug or alcohol abuse can be extremely painful. However, understanding how addiction illness affects a person’s behavior can go some way to making it easier to find the right treatment.

Addiction is characterized by an uncontrollable compulsion to abuse substances. The sufferer will be unable to quit using drugs or alcohol despite the extensive damage it may be doing to their lives. The illness also has widespread effects on the people close to the addict, sometimes damaging relationships beyond repair.

Loving Someone with an Addiction

One of the most difficult aspects of addiction is how the illness claims the personalities of sufferers. The more dependent a person becomes on drugs and alcohol just to feel okay, the more remote they seem to those close to them. This can make it extremely difficult to accept the negative behaviors of an addict although keeping in mind that they have lost all self-control makes it easier to understand.

Of course a person chooses to take drugs or consume alcohol to excesses voluntarily at the start of an addiction journey. When an individual exhibits the following signs, they may be starting to lose control of their substance use:

Mood swings and erratic behavior that’s not true to their personality
Becoming unreliable with responsibilities at work or home
Displaying aggression when challenged on their substance use
Withdrawing from those close to them in attempts to conceal substance use

These early warning signs of addictive behavior often represent the best time to get help for the individual and they are likely to have a very good chance of successful long-term recovery.

Get Help for an Addicted Loved One

Although most people know about interventions, when families confront an addicted loved one and seek to get them treatment, they invariably require professional assistance to arrange. Many people struggling with alcohol or drugs are in denial that they have a problem, which makes it very difficult to determine how they will respond to an intervention. Most rehab centers have intervention specialists who can help with the process and importantly, ensure the best outcomes for the individual concerned.

Help Someone with Addiction at Capo Canyon Recovery in Laguna Niguel, CA

Although addiction can be an intensely lonely journey, we can help repair families destroyed by the illness at Capo Canyon Recovery near Aliso Viejo, CA. If you are concerned about a loved one’s drug or alcohol use, contact us in confidence and we can advise on the best and most effective ways of getting them the care they need. First and foremost, staying safe with an addicted loved one is crucial and our addiction specialists are here to help you every step of the way. Contact us today and start your family’s healing process now.