Do you know someone who is abusing meth? If so, you may be racking your brain wondering how to help them overcome meth addiction. There are different ways you can handle this situation and the same response may not work for everyone. You may have to do trial and error to try getting through to this person. However, the guide here today should help you to best help someone who is suffering from meth addiction.
Understand the Addiction
Before you can really help someone to overcome meth addiction, you must understand the addiction yourself. You will need to do some research and possibly even make some phone calls, so you can learn about what this drug is and how it is affecting your friend, family member, co-worker or other person in your life.
Talk to an Interventionist
Another tip for handling a meth addiction in someone you care about is to talk to an interventionist. This is a trained professional who knows how to handle addiction and the situations that addictions bring about. If you know someone who is struggling with a meth addiction, some of the ways that an interventionist can help include
- Working with you and others to set up a meeting
- Talking to you about what to say during the meeting
- Preparing everyone for what could happen during the meeting (such as with different responses you might get)
These are just some ways that an interventionist is likely to help you and others to prepare for confronting the person with a meth addiction.
Taking Care of Yourself
If you are going to help someone who is struggling with a meth addiction, you must first take care of yourself. The addiction isn’t just affecting them. It is likely causing you stress, anxiety and worry. Some people who know someone with a meth addiction may even start abusing alcohol or drugs themselves to cope with the other person’s addiction. Even if you aren’t doing that, you may develop severe depression or anxiety while handling their addictive behaviors. It is crucial that you are taking care of yourself before handling their addiction.
Quit Enabling
The next step in helping someone who is suffering from meth addiction is to quit enabling them. They aren’t going to get any better if you keep allowing them to use drugs in your home or covering up their drug use. Some of the ways you can stop enabling them include:
- Quit making excuses for them
- Don’t call into work for them
- Don’t lie for them
- No paying their bills
- Don’t bail them out of jail
- Don’t make apologies on their behalf
If you can quit doing these things, it will go a long way in helping them to see they need to quit using drugs.
Confronting the Meth Addict
It is important that you confront the person with the meth addiction at some point. During this confrontation, you may have to give them an ultimatum. For example, you may need to tell them that they can no longer live in your home if they keep using drugs or they can’t borrow anymore money from you until they get through a rehab center treatment program.
It isn’t just about the ultimatum though. The confrontation should be stern, but from your heart. They need to know that the addiction isn’t just affecting them. It is affecting everyone else in their life, as well.
What Not to Do
In addition to the things that you can do to help someone who is struggling with meth addiction, there are some things you shouldn’t be doing, too. Some of these things include:
- What are your exact licenses or accreditations?
- What experience does your staff have?
- No confronting them while they are under the influence of drugs
- Don’t confront them when they are being aggressive
- Don’t talk to them while they are angry or depressed
- Don’t force them to get help (offer resources and information about treatments)
If you can avoid doing these things, things will likely go much smoother when helping the person who has an addiction. Keep in mind that not everyone who has an addiction will accept help. Sometimes, a person will accept help only after they overdose. You can’t force the treatments on them, but you can give them all the opportunities possible to get help.
Get Someone Help for a Meth Addiction Today
Do you know someone who is struggling with meth addiction? If so, now is the time to start following this guide. With the tips of what to do and what not to do when confronting someone who has a meth addiction, you will likely be more successful in helping them to see that they need help. If they are willing to accept help, have them contact us today, so they can start overcoming meth addiction. We are looking forward to helping them get their life back on track.
