You’ve seen your loved one struggle with substance abuse, and you want to help. Perhaps they’ve tried to quit drugs or alcohol over and over again to no avail. You’re realizing what they haven’t yet: they need professional help. You may be wondering how to get someone into rehab when they can’t recognize their need themselves.
Thankfully, there are some steps you can take to help your loved one realize their need for addiction treatment, explore their options, and be admitted into a program. In fact, your help in the process can be a key success factor for your loved one’s long-term sobriety.
How to Get Someone Into Rehab: Understanding the Need
So, where do you start? Getting someone into rehab first involves knowing what to look for in the midst of their struggles. Are they truly dealing with substance abuse? You likely know the answer, but educating yourself on the symptoms of addiction will give you clarity that real help is needed.
With that said, drug or alcohol addictions have some recognizable signs that you may easily notice in your loved one. These indicators can include:
- Intense cravings or urges for the substance
- Skipping enjoyable activities or social gatherings
- Need to use more of a substance to achieve the same effects
- Unmet personal, family, or work responsibilities due to substance use
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms (nausea, vomiting, mood swings, etc.) when trying to stop using substances
- Continuing to use substances despite the consequences
- Taking risks while under the influence of substances
- Compulsive behaviors
- Weight changes
SOURCE: Brown University
Many of the symptoms above will create dysfunction in a person’s life. You may have even noticed this yourself as you’ve seen your loved one lose their social life or no longer follow through on requests or responsibilities. And unless they get help, these symptoms will often get worse.
Common Treatment Barriers
It may make total sense to you that your loved one should go to rehab for their addiction. But to your loved one, it may not be that obvious or easy. There are often barriers that get in the way that prevent addiction treatment for a loved one from happening, such as:
- The stigma of addiction that puts both the struggle and seeking treatment in a negative light
- Shame, guilt, and other negative feelings about their choices and actions
- The refusal to own up to and admit that their behavior is causing harm
- Believing that they’re only hurting themselves
Understanding these barriers can help you consider what your loved one is thinking and feeling in putting off, refusing, or delaying treatment. At the same time, you can help your loved one overcome these barriers and gradually recognize that they need professional help.
How to Get Someone Into Rehab: Your Role
When considering how to get a loved one into rehab, you as a friend or family member can provide pivotal support to get them on the right track. You can’t necessarily force your loved one to go, but your encouragement will make a difference. Here’s what you can do to help in getting someone to rehab:
Provide Education
Beyond familiarizing yourself with addiction symptoms, take your substance abuse education a step further by learning how it impacts the person addicted. This helps you understand more the challenges they face ahead, as well as equips you to have any difficult conversations about their situation and need for help.
Offer Emotional and Logistical Support
Support is a major part of learning how to get someone into rehab. No doubt your loved one’s addiction has made life incredibly challenging for them. Providing compassion, emotional support, and empathy as a close family member or friend goes a long way in helping them heal.
At the same time, you can show support in the more practical aspects of the recovery journey. You may want to help your loved one look into treatment program options. Maybe you give them rides to outpatient therapy. For a season, you may help maintain their home responsibilities so they stay afloat during the early stages of treatment.
Empower
The decision to move forward with treatment lies with your loved one, not you. Getting someone into rehab isn’t solely on your shoulders. But your support, encouragement, and help can empower them to come to the right choice. With your help, your loved one can learn to overcome shame, heal the types of trauma that drive an addiction, and ultimately find lasting sobriety.
New England-Based Addiction Treatment for Loved Ones
If you’re looking into addiction treatment for a loved one, we can help at Sana at Stowe. Our holistic treatment center in Vermont provides comprehensive, trauma-informed drug and alcohol addiction treatment and a compassionate, safe place to heal. To learn more about our treatment philosophy, programs, and more, call us today.
