Managing People Seeking Drug & Alcohol Addiction Treatment

Many people who suffer from drug or alcohol addiction struggle to heal and are unable to get their lives back on track on their own. In many instances, people suffering from a drug or alcohol addiction do not get the help and support that they need.
 

For the loved ones of people with alcohol and drug addiction, seeing them struggle can be incredibly difficult. Many family members of people with substance abuse problems find it difficult to know how to help them.
 

Although addiction is an awful disease, the good news is that there are steps that can be taken to help people dealing with addiction.

 

How common is addiction?
 

According to Drug Wise, in 2010 to 2011 there was 298,752 opiate and crack cocaine users in the UK, a figure that has risen over the past seven years.
 

In 2015/16 the NHS had 8,621 hospital admissions which came with a primary diagnosis of drug-related mental health problems. This was a six percent rise than the year before and 11% higher than 2005/06. There was also 15,074 hospital admissions that had a diagnosis of poisoning by drugs. This is also six percent more than 2014/15 and 51% more than 2005/06.
 

As for alcohol addiction, the Office for National Statistics found that in 2016, 29 million people in the UK over the age of 16 drank alcohol, with 7.8 million of these people having ‘binged’ on alcohol during the year. (Binge drinking is defined as males who exceeded 8 units of alcohol on their heaviest drinking day and females who exceeded 6 units on their heaviest drinking day.)
 

It was also found that young people, aged 16 to 24 years old, tend to drink less than other age groups. However, when they do have a drink, they tend to consume more alcohol than other age groups and binge more frequently.

 

How can people with substance abuse issues be helped?
 

1. Hold an intervention - The most popular way to encourage people with an addiction problem to seek help is to hold an intervention. This is when a group of people who play important roles in the person’s life, get together and sit the person down to tell them how much they care about them and how worried about them they are, with the aim being to prompt them to get the help that they need.
 

2. Tell the person what will happen if they don’t seek help - Another step that can be taken to encourage someone to get help is to tell them what may happen if they do not seek the help that they so desperately need. It can be useful to get an addiction expert to come and speak to the person and explain to them what road their life may go down if they fail to seek help for their addiction. It’s important that the picture painted is as bleak as possible, to ensure that the person realises how vital it is that they get the help that they need.
 

3. Bring in a former addict - If this still isn’t effective, then the next step could be to bring in a former addict to talk to the person. Sometimes, it can take hearing from someone who has been where they are, to make someone with an addiction see just how serious their situation is, and how important it is that they choose to seek help.
 

4. Ask why they won’t get help - When an addict refuses to seek help, usually there is an underlying reason for this. So if you can take the time to get to the bottom of what this is, it can be a good idea to ask them why they don’t want to get help. Whatever their reasoning, whether it’s embarrassment or fear, make sure to support them.
 

5. Talk to the person, not at them - If you talk at the person and accuse them of things, you will find that they are less likely to listen to you. It’s much better to take an understanding approach and talk to them, instead of talking at them. This is more likely to achieve the result that you want and need - for them to get help.

 

What help is available?
 

Rehab 4 Alcoholism is a free and impartial helpline for people troubled with drug and alcohol issues. Rehab 4 Alcoholism aims to save lives by stopping addiction before it becomes too late.
 

They manage a free helpline for people seeking drug & alcohol addiction treatment. Each year we save thousands of lives by assisting people through the treatment process.
 

The helpline is called Rehab 4 Alcoholism. Tel: 0800 111 4108 or you can visit https://www.rehab4alcoholism.com/regions/south-west.