Get Drug Addiction Help Today -7 Ways to Help a Friend Struggling with Drug Addiction

You have a friend who is struggling with drug addiction? If so, this can be confusing, hurtful, devastating and downright tough to handle. It is important to remember not to take the things they are doing or saying personally. With this being said, it is likely that you want to find ways that you can get them the drug addiction help they need, too. Here are 7 of the best ways that you can assist your friend in getting help, support and treatment, so they can overcome their drug addiction. 

If you have more questions about the treatment options, feel free to reach out to our Better Tomorrow addiction and mental health rehab team today. 

Educating Yourself 

One of the best things you can do for a friend who is struggling with drug addiction is to educate yourself. The more information you can learn about drug addictions, the better it will be for you and the more you can help your friend. You will be able to better understand the addict’s disease, too. 

Do you need more resources and information about drug addiction treatment or the recovery process? If so, don’t hesitate to let our team know. We would be happy to speak to you and/or your friend about the treatment options and services we provide here at our recovery center. We even have therapy sessions and educational programs where you and/or your friend can learn more about addiction and recovery, as well. 

Get Support for Yourself

Dealing with someone who has a drug addiction can often be more difficult than having the addiction yourself. The reason being that you have no control over whether or not they decide to get drug addiction help. Sure, you can talk to them about it and plead, but ultimately, the choice is up to them. 

With this being said, it is crucial that you get support for yourself while you are working on getting your friend drug addiction help. There are multiple support groups and other places where you can get the help and support you need. Al-Anon and Nar-Anon are two common, popular groups for friends and family members of addicts. Al-Anon mainly focuses on alcohol addiction while Nar-Anon mainly focuses on drug addiction – both illegal and prescription. 

Go to Counseling 

Support groups can be great, but sometimes, that isn’t enough support. You may also want to attend individual counseling, so you have some one-on-one time with a professional. In these sessions, you can also work on yourself and the way you handle the addict in your life. 

If your friend is ready to go to counseling or get drug addiction help, have them reach out to Better Tomorrow today.

Getting Specialty Help

What does this mean? Well, when anyone is dealing with an addiction, it can encompass various aspects of their life. For example, if your elderly loved one got into legal trouble, you, your loved one and an attorney should meet up. The attorney may recommend to the judge that your loved one will attend drug addiction rehab if they don’t have to go to jail. Oftentimes, judges are more apt to send or require the addict to go to treatment for rehabilitation purposes rather than putting them in jail. Some other specialty services that can help you and your friend or loved one are therapy, doctors and more.

If your friend wants to get specialty drug addiction help, Better Tomorrow is the place for them.

No Enabling 

When addiction takes hold of your friend or loved one, it can be really tough on you. You may feel at fault or like you are somehow responsible. Oftentimes, you are enabling your friend or loved one, even when you don’t realize it. 

There are many ways that you can stop enabling the drug addict in your life. However, before diving into these tips it is important to make sure you are getting the support you need either through support groups, therapy or other friends or loved ones. Now, some of the tips to stop enabling your friend with their drug addiction include:

• Don’t lend or give them money (if you are going to pay for a bill, put it directly on the bill and don’t give it to your friend)
• Don’t allow them to do drugs or be under the influence of drugs at your house
• Don’t go out partying with them
• Don’t use prescription drugs in front of your friend
• Lock up your prescription drugs, so your friend can’t get them
• Don’t listen to your friend’s stories about how or where they get high

If you can stop doing these things, your friend might come to realize that you don’t support their lifestyle. The more people in their life that do these things, the less support they are going to have to stay in their addictive lifestyle. Hopefully, this will be one of the many things that convinces your friend to get drug addiction help. 

Develop Realistic Expectations for the Addict

Are you used to preaching and lecturing the addict in your life? Maybe, you are used to telling the addict that they must stop using drugs – they can’t ever see their grandkids again if they use drugs – etc. These may be things you want or will make happen if the addict keeps using drugs. However, they aren’t realistic expectations.

Developing realistic expectations for the addict can help both them and you. It can take stress and pressure off from you and help them to see what rules they need to follow. So, take some time to think about the rules you want your friend to follow and tell them when they aren’t high. Make sure you do so in a calm voice and don’t fall into an argument with them. 

If your loved one or friend is ready to get drug addiction help after you state your rules (or at any time), have them reach out to Better Tomorrow Recovery Center today. 

Taking Care of You 

Dealing with an addict is stressful, tiring, exhausting and ultimately can be depressing. For all these negative feelings, it is important that you have some positive thoughts and behaviors in your life. This is why taking care of yourself is extremely important when you have an addict in your life. 

There are many ways you can practice self-care such as:

• Participate in your hobbies
• Play games
• Watch comedy movies
• Listen to jokes
• Have fun with another friend or loved one
• Take a hot bath
• Get a massage
• Light aromatherapy candles
• Go to a support group or therapy session

The more you practice self-care, the more you will see that your expectations of the addict are realistic. You expect them to be a positive influence in your life, not a dragging down anchor. 

Getting Drug Addiction Help for Your Friend 

If, at any point, your friend or loved one is ready to get drug addiction help, get them in touch with our Better Tomorrow team. Our team has helped thousands of drug addicts to overcome their addiction and create a life in recovery that amazes and surprises them. This is something your loved one or friend can have in their life, too. If they aren’t sure about getting into a treatment center program, but they would like more information, have them reach out to us.

They can contact us, here at Better Tomorrow, for any drug addiction help today.