When to Intervene in Opioid Addiction?
Have you tried everything? Have you spoken to the person you love until you’re blue in the face? Maybe, the discussions you’ve had about their opioid addiction have led to screaming matches, fights, physical altercations, or emotion battery. The issue is that when you try to have a conversation about addiction, you’re speaking to someone who just doesn’t want to listen. They may become aggressive, defensive, or dismissive. However, when you approach them in the style of an intervention with a small collection of people that they know and care about, you can change the script.
Opioid Addiction Crises
You may have seen it firsthand with the person in your life struggling with opioid addiction. Durham has not escaped the nationwide crises of opioid addiction which has surpassed previous drug epidemics in the United States, including the crack and heroin epidemics through the 1980s and 1990s.
Opioid addiction is so rampant now because of the general public’s reliance on the medical community. And in turn, the medical communities reliance on pharmaceutical pain management. Sometime in the early 2000s, doctors began writing prescriptions for pain medication for anything. When it comes to pain, doctors have little to go on other than the patient’s word, and each person has different levels of pain tolerance.
While doctors now are becoming more aware and stringent with their prescription methods, they are also becoming more away from drug-seeking behavior. Unfortunately for those already addicted, it just means seeking out their drug of choice through illegal means.
When to Setup an Intervention
Covering the basic questions of what an intervention is, when to do it, and who should take charge are very important. An intervention is when the family or close friends of the addicted person choose to confront that person with their issues. An intervention will often cover the behaviors of all the people involved, the addict’s choices, and what will happen moving forward. Usually, there are ultimatums in place, and the goal is to show the person love and care while not enabling their further use of the drug.
Who should take charge? Usually, the one person leading the intervention should be a professional. Someone that the addict may or may not know but does have experience with treating addiction. Many rehab centers will offer their therapists or counselors to sit in on interventions to facilitate or lead an intervention. You and your family can find professional help for arranging your intervention by contact a local rehabilitation center in Durham, NC.
Knowing when to schedule the intervention will take some finesse and planning. The entire intervention team, everyone who will be present and the facilitator, need to accomplish a few things first. You all should meet and gather any relevant information. You may want to find and agree upon a treatment center that is willing to accept the affected person.
Afterward, you will need to go through the most pertinent aspects that will come up within the intervention. Decide on consequences for the person not seeking out treatment. Then make notes together on how to address accusations or past issues that will likely come up during the intervention. It is critical that everyone on the team be on the same page and present a united front. The intervention cannot get off-topic, or else the point is lost.
Each person should make clear notes on what they would like to say, and how they can keep themselves on the topic of this person seeking out recovery. In those notes, they may cite specific instances in which the person hurt them, and still circle around to the loving and forgiving nature which has led to the intervention.
Finally, when everyone is ready and in agreeance, you need to lure the person into the intervention without them knowing about it. The surprising aspect will not allow the person experiencing opioid addiction to plan for making excuses or arguments.
Planning and Scheduling an Intervention
Opioid addiction is so difficult to handle because many people, at some point, did need help with pain management. However, many abusers of opioids no longer need this medication and can handle the pain or manage symptoms of other injuries without it. This addiction is crippling, and you should not stand by and watch a loved one fall to one of the biggest drug crises that the U.S. has seen.
Contact Rehab Carolinas for help and information about family recovery. As a family, you and the abuser can grow and develop strategies to get sober and stay sober.