Southworth Associates International provides advice and assistance to those supporting a loved one through the necessary first steps towards recovery from drug addiction. There is an opinion that a person suffering from drug addiction must reach ‘rock bottom’ before acquiring the motivation to change. However, our evidence at Southworth Associates International suggests otherwise. As the addicted person spirals further down into their addiction, their loved ones will become enmeshed in this journey. They may enable the addition emotionally and financially for longer than necessary. To learn more about our drug addiction intervention services, contact Southworth Associates today at (866) 460-9014.
Families and Addiction
Conflicts and divisions within a family often stem from drug addictions, alongside significant levels of denial. Blame is often prevalent. The addicted person may direct it towards other family members. Furthermore, family members may blame themselves. They may feel a deep sense of shame that they may have been responsible for the situation as they attempt to make sense of the addiction.
If a loved one has been struggling with addiction for a long time, it could be that there was hope the addiction was not severe and would stop on its own. It could also be that the loved one felt afraid of pushing the addicted person away following a confrontation around their drug use. They may be afraid of where they may go, and who with, or what the consequences would be.
The Need For Drug Addiction Intervention
Underneath the traumatic feelings of guilt, shame, and anger will usually lie love, loyalty, and a desire to protect the addicted person. Unfortunately, the person struggling with addiction may use these feelings as leverage against their loved ones. Maintaining a drug addiction requires the person to be a skilled manipulator, using whatever emotional leverage they can to feed their addiction.
Southworth Associates International aims to provide the same support to family members and loved ones as they do the addicted person. Families must recover from the control and emotional abuse that can occur. Southworth Associates International strives to treat the whole family, advising how to establish and enforce practical and emotional boundaries to restore the family’s dynamics.
Interventions go beyond attempting to stop the addicted person’s drug use. They also aim to prevent families and loved ones from continuing their unintentional complicity in the addiction cycle.
Commitment to Recovery
While treatment is a vital and necessary part of the recovery process, it is just one stage of the recovery journey. For those addicted to drugs, recovery is a life-long process and depends on several components. Permanent abstinence requires a level of commitment and appropriate boundaries. Also, the addicted person needs to take responsibility for the addiction. It is far easier for addicted people to project their issues onto their loved ones and blame everything and everyone other than themselves. Challenging and confronting an addicted person’s behavior lovingly and compassionately is complex, but vital for the family to positively move forward and achieve true, lifelong recovery.
Should We Choose To Intervene?
Drug addiction has the power to strip a person of their quality of life and alienate them from their loved ones if left untreated. It is necessary to engage with appropriate professional support when confronting addiction; it could be the difference between life and death. Southworth Associates International takes great pride in our ability to deliver intervention processes that heal every person involved in the cycle of addiction.
Interventions exist to break the patterns of addiction by identifying and understanding behaviors for what they truly are. We will aim to help teach the family to understand when blame and enablement are at play and recognize when the addicted person is manipulative. This knowledge can encourage the family to feel confident in saying ‘no’ without concurrent feelings of unmanageable guilt.
The majority of people addicted to drugs want to stop using, but feel helpless and don’t know where to begin. Our intervention process seeks to enable the addicted person to recognize their part in the addiction cycle and highlight manageable, achievable steps for them to take. Our services help them become accountable and responsible for their drug use to recognize why change is necessary.
The Intervention Process
While drug addictions can be fatal, interventions can breathe new life into every person who engages in them. Our drug addiction interventions strive to help the addicted person take responsibility for their addictions. Simultaneously, it also encourages the family to relieve themselves of the sense of responsibility they feel.
It is paramount to a successful intervention to understand each family member’s role within the addiction.
We’ve carefully and thoughtfully constructed our interventions to highlight any dysfunctional behavior within the family that may be enabling the addicted person.
The addicted person can manipulate the love and loyalty a family provides to obtain emotional and financial support. This action hinders their recovery by removing any motivation to change. An addicted person must accept that they are responsible for their addiction in order to achieve a desire to change and feel hopeful for the future.
An Addict’s Perspective
Those who suffer from drug addictions tend to choose the path of least resistance. An addict will always opt for a program that is quick, easy, and close to home. Therefore the addicted person mustn’t be the only adjudicator in deciding which treatment program is the best for them.
You will inevitably have experienced many broken promises as a loved one of an addicted person. For instance, they may have convinced you they will get clean by attending meetings. You may have also agreed to pay for psychiatrists or other forms of treatment or therapies. Unfortunately, this results in you paying lots of money, but ultimately not being effective. It may be that the addicted person has every intention of stopping their drug use. However, without appropriate intervention, it is impossible. The addicted person and their loved ones will suffer together, looking towards an inevitable future of jail, hospitalization, or death.
Intervene With Southworth Associates
Often, a family will delay seeking help from an interventionist until the addiction’s impact has gotten so bad that they feel they cannot continue. However, you can avoid this if you perform an intervention when initial signs of addiction become prevalent. If you wait for an addicted person to reach their lowest point or ‘rock bottom,’ it could mean there is no more motivation to change or to accept help.
Even if there are doubts, you have nothing to lose by contacting us and discussing the situation you face. You can also seek advice for the next steps for your family and loved ones suffering from addiction.
For the peace of mind you deserve, call our drug addiction intervention services today at (866) 460-9014.