Interventionists and the Agreement to Change

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Whatever kind of addiction intervention you’re looking to have, be it drugs, alcohol or something else, most people feel like the responsibility to change is in the hands of the addict. That’s because we’ve all been watching television for years, and everyone has heard of the term, “hit rock bottom,” the way that defines when an addict hits the absolute lowest low they can hit, thus forcing themselves into treatment. Although that’s true, that’s just one step in the process, and the other parts have to do with the family.

An intervention program at Family First involves what we call a Commitment to Change. This is an agreement signed by the addict and each person on the intervention team that commits to changing their own actions over the course of a year. Why does everyone sign this contract?

The ecosystem of an addict is not just contained within their own self. It’s wide and varied, and includes everyone in their family, plus other friends and colleagues. These are the people that are either consciously or unconsciously enabling the addict to do what they do. Again, this isn’t a malicious act on the act of these people; this can very easily be something that the person is not really aware that they do. But to make sure that the addict can recover, everyone in their life needs to commit to making a change as well.

The substance abuser in question may not become 100 percent clean and sober after their drug and alcohol intervention, and there may be a relapse that occurs. But if everyone in their social circle commits to making the change with them, then the less likely it is that such a relapse will happen.

Going through an alcohol intervention, drug abuse intervention or other type of intervention program can be an emotional process for everyone involved, and it’s not going to be easy — but nothing ever worth doing is. Understand that making the commitment to change is something that everyone has to do, and if they do, then everyone — including the substance abuser — will be better in the long run because of it.

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Drugs, Alcohol and the Other Side of Interventions

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It may be hard to believe, but when it comes to interventions, most people think of the addict first and how to change them, instead of thinking of themselves and what part the family has over changing. Most people spend all of their time, energy and resources trying to just talk to their loved one or change rules thinking this will swear the addiction off.  Truth is, most families are taught to enable by their loved one so that they don’t have to change making the addiction easier for them at the expense of the family.

Take the addiction, for example. Although the end result is drug and/or alcohol abuse, that is not the problem, just a symptom. Throwing away the addict’s paraphernalia, cleaning their room for them, making them sign a contract etc. just prolongs the process. We should focus on the root cause of the addiction itself and solve that problem, and that can vary from person to person.  A dark example but real one is thinking that moving a sex offender away from a school will change the fact that they are a sex offender.

At the very core of it all, an addict is seeking to make themselves feel better or avoid something that might be uncomfortable to them.  Addicts and alcoholics are able to do this only by changing family dynamics that cause their addiction to become more comfortable.  Calling in an intervention specialist can help the family identify what family behaviors are contributing to the addiction being easier than it should.  Through drug intervention programs, you can sort out the problem and fix that. Once that’s done, things become a lot more clear and your loved one can begin to own the addiction.

The pleasure seeking process changes as the addiction process draws out in length. In the beginning, it may be about just having a good time. As things progress, it can turn into avoiding discomfort, maybe between friends or family members that are trying to arrange intervention services for them. Even though it becomes about avoiding discomfort entirely, and the process may not be that much fun for them at all, your loved one actually gets comfortable being an addict or alcoholic. Instead of being the happy person at the party, they’re now in a corner trying to maintain their covering the pain of the problems that started this to begin with.

The addict or alcoholic will need the love and support of their family and friends to succeed, as well as the help of an intervention program of some kind. But with the right care and help, you can get them the treatment they deserve.

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Defining Success with an Intervention Program

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Defining success at an addiction intervention is based on both the outcome of the addict or alcoholic accepting help and the family changing behaviors.  Families changing enabling ensures that the substance abuser is going to get the help and treatment that they need. But what defines success with the program? Is it never touching an addictive substance again? Is it short term gains? Is it a clearly defined set of boundaries that only you really know? 

We look at things in a broad scope, and that’s part of our definition of success in an intervention program. Just because your loved one accepts help from the interventionist, there is still much more the family has to do to increase the success rate of treatment. An addiction intervention is about more than just getting your loved one off of their addictive substance; it’s also about teaching them how to manage their addiction to start on the recovery process, as well as getting their family members to help in the system as well.

There are a few different things that we look at that really define success for us at Family First Intervention. First, we want your loved one to take accountability for their addictive behaviors by giving the problem back to them. A substance abuse problem isn’t just contained to the addict or alcoholic themselves, it involves everyone in their family system. By making them accountable for their own actions, we help them through the recovery process.

Second, we want to get the addict/alcoholic to become willing to do whatever is necessary to recover. Going through an addiction intervention isn’t easy for your loved one, and to make them change, they have to do whatever it takes to make that happen. That can involve making decisions that they may not want to make. That’s the key — making the change even if they are uncomfortable.

Third, we want to get your loved one to learn to face and handle life situations in a healthy manner. Maybe they used to get high every time they had a bad day at work, or drank a bottle of whiskey whenever a football game was on. These are not healthy behaviors for any person to go through, and the addict needs to understand that they need to change.

Finally, we want to repair the family dynamic that surrounds a substance abuser by transforming it into a healthy system which no longer enables, takes accountability for, or aids in continuing the unhealthy behaviors of a substance abuser. By doing this, we can create an environment for the addict that’s warm and comforting, and helps enable them to succeed in what they do.

An intervention specialist understands what the family is going through as well as what the addict or alcoholic is going through.

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Addiction Interventions and Withdrawal

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Believe it or not, withdrawal and detox after the drug abuse intervention is the easiest point of the recovery process for the addict or alcoholic.  Getting through the physical pain while medically supervised is far less difficult than facing the problems that caused them to become dependent in the first place.  Through our intervention program, families understand what happens to the person once they’re off of the drugs or alcohol.  They understand that the substance abuse was just the solution to the underlying problems their loved one was facing.

Heroin or other opiates and benzodiazepines, for example. prior to going through a drug addiction intervention (when the addict is still using), will have physical withdrawal symptoms upon arriving at treatment.  Opiates, benzo’s and alcohol which are classified as depressants, are drugs that are both physically addictive as well as mentally addictive.  Stimulants for example, crack, meth etc are primarily only mentally addicting with little or no uncomfortable withdrawal symptoms like with alcohol or opiates, although stimulant drugs are equally as powerful of an addiction mentally.  Drugs like alcohol and opiates, when legally prescribed, can have a strong psychological justification because alcohol and medically prescribed painkillers are legal.  Even when illegal opiates are obtained there is a certain sense of justification that they are ingesting a clean narcotic and not some street junk.

There is a probability of death when coming off of drugs like alcohol and benzodiazepines, making a medically supervised detox a must.  After detox or physical withdrawal is over, the addict or alcoholic must now face the long road of mental withdrawal in which they must face themselves without the crutch of drugs or alcohol to mask the pain.  In the case of a person who is going through an alcohol intervention it is not uncommon for alcoholics to still have jobs or families.  In fact many times families of alcoholics hold off doing anything because it appears that there is hope the alcoholic can fix the problems themselves or that it is not as bad as it seems.

The point to take away here is that no matter what kind of addiction intervention your friend or family member is going to have, they need comfort that they have friend and family to help support their recovery as they experience both mental and physical changes as they go through treatment  It’s going to be a bumpy road, but they can make it through as long as they have your help and the help of an interventionist.

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Excuses and Interventions

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You hear about interventions on the television all the time, since it seems like they’re the latest form of reality TV, but what is the process really like? Is it really that way to go through the process? Do you have to use an intervention specialist?

In the real world of interventions, the addict or alcoholic is almost always in denial mostly because they don’t have a movie camera following them around for 30 days prior to the intervention.  It doesn’t matter how much, how little or what someone is using, it really only matters what they are doing or not doing as a result of the use.  So weather it is a drug intervention, because they are hiding their use or it is an alcohol intervention, and they admit they have a problem, using a professional to identify their behaviors and to handle all of the denial and manipulation of your loved one is the best option.

One of the things that happens fairly often with both family and their loved ones that is best to be aware of to ensure that no one falls into that trap is the “Yeah, but …” Syndrome, and it’s another way to phrase an excuse. Addicts and alcoholics want to stay comfortable and they will come up with every excuse to do so.

Let’s say that you want to get your loved one help, but you still have some doubts in the back of your mind. That’s when the “Yeah, but …” comes into play. It is far more difficult for your family to do an intervention than it is to get your loved one to go to treatment.  Furthermore, it can be more difficult to handle the objections of the family to do the intervention than it is to handle the objections of the person to accept help.

“Yeah, but if I don’t bail them out of jail then they could get hurt on the inside.”

“Yeah, but if I call the cops, then they’ll get in trouble and I don’t want that.”

“Yeah, but if I just keep this a secret, then they can’t hurt anyone else.”

Sound familiar? These things happen to lots of people before they take the right steps to get their loved one into an intervention program, and it’s something almost everyone has to learn the hard as they wait for the addiction to correct itself.

These types of excuses can manifest themselves in thousands of different scenarios, and are all unique to your particular situation. Think about whether or not you’ve found yourself saying “Yeah, but …” about one thing or another. Maybe it was when your loved one tried to borrow money from you, or possibly it was when another family member explained why they gave them a place to stay after a big bender. Chances are pretty good you’ll find one or two of those situations coming to mind. It’s time to stop the cycle.

 

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It’s Time for a Family Intervention

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How many times has a family been told they have to wait for their loved one to want help or hit bottom. Even when the family sees all the signs of addiction and negative behaviors they are still torn waiting for something to correct itself. Picking up the phone to call an intervention specialist for the family is more difficult than an addict or alcoholic calling a treatment center. You know that your loved one needs help, and you know that you need to help them but between the manipulations of the addict and the alcoholic and society telling you that you have no control, you watch the situation crumble before you. Most families wait hoping they meet that special someone or find a job that will change them for the better. Unfortunately it is not going to happen that way

Coming to the decision to do an intervention has probably taken far longer than it had to. Fact is this decision was laid out for you years before you found that first needle or starting noticing the alcohol on their breath, even if you never knew it. Like it or not, if you want your loved one to survive, you have to take the next step help hold them accountable for their addiction through a family intervention so that everything can be brought back to normal not just for your loved one but for the family they have dismantled.

Why Professional Intervention

Why a family intervention as opposed to an intervention done without professional help by just family members with no experience? With a family intervention, the family prepares professionally with the interventionist prior to meeting with your loved one the next day. The intervention is not just about talking your loved one into treatment; it is equally about changing the family system broken by the addiction.  Families become part of the enabling process through the manipulations and teachings of the addict or alcoholic.  It’s easy for them to get high on a daily basis because families provide them the means to do so, whether you’re doing so consciously or not. Yes, they’re the addict that needs treatment, but they’re never going to get better if the family continues doing the same things that made their addiction process easier. Their problem has become your problem, and it needs to be understood and treated that way.

Intervention Education

Interventions are not going to be an easy process for you and your family, not because it is a difficult process for us, but because there will be some people and family members who disagree with the intervention program and will actually try to talk the family out of it. Getting one person that needs help to accept help is far easier than convincing 5 – 10 family members with different opinions all changed by the addiction to do an intervention.

Taking this step is necessary for not only your loved one to move forward and take a different path in their life, but also for you. Once a family truly understand the intervention process, it is then much easier to follow through.

Family First Intervention, help is just a call away: 1.877.728.1122

 

 

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Is it time for a Drug Addiction Intervention?

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An addiction intervention can be a matter of life or death for a loved one in need of substance recovery treatment. Waiting for the hypothetical “rock bottom” could mean them losing family, job, home or life. Making the decision to step in and hold an intervention is never easy, but with the help of our trained, caring interventionists, it can mean a hopeful new future for the people you love.

People do not have to be using drugs and alcohol every day to be in danger. The whirlwind of addiction often begins slowly, but it is the very nature of the disease of addiction to increasingly, insidiously overtake lives. What begins as “social” using, or a few drinks here and there to escape the stress of daily living may soon blossom into complete physical and mental addiction.  According to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, substance abuse interventions enable someone who is struggling to recognize the signs of addiction, take the  necessary steps to address the addiction and get the help they need. Read the checklist below and if you recognize these danger signs of addiction, contact an Above it All intervention specialist to discuss the life-saving treatment options available to save the life of your friend or family member.

Symptoms of Substance Abuse May Include:

  • Deteriorating personal hygiene
  • Decline in physical health
  • Sudden weight change
  • Inability to focus and follow conversation
  • Tremors of hands
  • Slurred speech
  • Car accidents or falls
  • Constant runny nose
  • Personality and behavioral changes
  • Excessive drug prescriptions for self and family
  • Frequent emotional crises
  • Arguments/violent outbursts
  • Extramarital affairs
  • Withdrawal from family and close friends
  • Neglect of children
  • Unexplained absences
  • Embarrassing behavior
  • DUI or other arrests
  • Alcohol on breath
  • Frequent unexplained absences from work
  • Defensive behavior
  • Frequent job changes

If the items on the above checklist are looking all too familiar, don’t despair: there’s help and support waiting here. To learn more about the intervention services offered by Above it All Treatment Centers, don’t wait. It’s not too late to save the life of your loved one – contact us today.

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Addiction Intervention “Do’s”

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Families do not have to sit by and watch a loved one hit bottom or want help.  By staging a family intervention a family is able to change the situation and help bring their loved one to a point of accepting help by raising their bottom.   When a professional intervention specialist is brought in, they are able to educate families on the right way to do things.  It is never a good idea to stage a family intervention on your own. Even with the best of intentions, working with an intervention professional ensures no stone is left unturned and that the family truly understands that they did everything they could. Our interventionist job is not to just talk your loved one into treatment.  It is up to the family to follow instructions on how to make their loved one willing by changing behaviors that have allowed things to get to this point.  During the drug and alcohol intervention your interventionist will show the family how their loved one has created an unhealthy system over time that has made their addiction as easy as possible at the expense of the family.  An intervention “don’t” is doing this on your own because it will be nothing more than just the same thing and that is just talking to them.  The intervention “do’s” is allowing someone to show you how to fix the situation to ensure the best chance of a positive outcome.

Professional Interventionist

It may be difficult for some family members, but intervention participants should try and remain as supportive and less angry as possible throughout the entire intervention. An intervention is not the appropriate time to become enraged or pass judgment on the addict. Again, having trained, professional interventionists mediate the gathering of loved ones will ensure that everyone stays focused and on track– getting a positive, hopeful message through to the addict that is essential for a positive outcome.

Family Involvement

It is no surprise that at the time of the intervention there are pent-up frustrations and strong emotions when it comes to the addict in your life. Everyone present will have a chance to say what is required either verbally or through their letter at the intervention when appropriate. Getting mad can only lead to intimidation and defensiveness from your loved one at the intervention. Although getting mad is allowed, it is best to let the interventionist engage and mediate when that time is best.  Interventions confront problems, not people.

Addiction & Family Education 

It is the very nature of drug addiction to create denial in the addict. Breaking through this wall of addiction without a professional isn’t easy. Whether this is the first time you’ve considered intervention, or another attempt to save the life of someone you love, the interventionists at Family First Intervention can offer a fresh approach, along with the support and knowledge required to help your family overcome their addiction.

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Intervention Services – You’re Not in This Alone

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Don’t let the myth that “alcoholics and addicts must ask for help” sidetrack your plans for a family intervention. While it’s not impossible for an addict caught in the spiral of addiction to simply decide to stop using, it does require a degree of self-control that most people are just not capable of. For a majority of alcoholics and addicts, the disease simply cannot be battled and won single-handedly.

With the proper support, people can safely face and recover from their addictions. A well-planned, professionally led addiction intervention is not a confrontation – rather, it is a constructive way to help the alcoholic or addict see the truth of their own behavior. In fact, the most effective interventions are gentle, loving and caring in tone.

Some families are also held back by the fear that the subject of the drug and alcohol intervention will forever resent and turn their backs on all who participate. In fact, that rarely happens – but even so, when a loved one is trapped in the cycle of addiction, the hard truth is that person’s very life is at stake. When the possibility of angering the addict is weighed against their very survival, the choice is clear. Additionally, when a person is suffering the agony of addiction, every friend, loved one and family member suffers right alongside them. Intervention programs help more than just the addict – the entire family and circle of loved ones benefit as well.

Help for drug and alcohol addiction is not “one-size-fits-all.” There are no easy answers, and there is no type of intervention that is appropriate for every situation – each has unique challenges. That is why the assistance and support of an experienced interventionist is essential. These professionals are highly trained and experts at determining which intervention style and technique is best suited in each case. The interventionists skills and knowledge don’t stop when the initial intervention ends – the interventionist’s job is actually far from finished. Drug abuse intervention is not just a single event, rather it is a process that requires monitoring and follow-up to ensure that both the family and the addict all continue the journey to healing.

With the help and support of family members, a professional interventionist can step in and offer assistance before your loved on has hit his or her “rock bottom” – or worse. Intervention can save your loved one’s life. Learn more about our intervention services today.

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Repair Your Family with an Intervention

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If you are in the process of choosing intervention services, remember that addiction affects the entire family, not just the addict. It may seem trite, but it is true that no man is an island. Every act has a consequence that ripples outward from us indefinitely, and addiction has a lot of negative ripples that hurt a lot of people.

The ones we love can hurt us the most. Careless words and rude behavior from a stranger can be upsetting, but from a close friend or family member they cut deep. It can be hard to let go of the past and forgive someone who has hurt you, even if you recognize the person who hurt you was an addict who was under the control of substance abuse.

That is why it is crucial that the intervention process really be a family intervention; every member of the family needs to have their voice heard.  A lot of attention has been paid to the addict and what he needs and wants, and a lot of other people are likely to have felt excluded, neglected, and left behind or just flat out not important enough.  Addicts take a lot of the energy and attention because their situation can be so dire.  When someone else has something going on, they may feel ignored or dismissed because whatever it is, it just isn’t as big of a deal as substance abuse.  That can lead to a lot anger and resentment.

Our Family interventions allow for everyone to come together and heal as one unit and able to become whole again after being torn into so many pieces before.  It may seem like there are all these different warring factions in the family right now, but those rifts can be healed and you can all come together, not just for the sake of the addict, but for everyone.

Dealing with addiction and overcoming substance abuse is not easy.  An addict has to work very hard on their recovery.  Too often the fallout on the rest of the family is overlooked and that is a mistake.  In order for the addict to make amends and heal relationships, everyone needs to be given a chance to be honest and open in a constructive way.  An intervention that involves the whole family is a positive way to get everyone to participate in the recovery process, increasing the likelihood of success for both the addict overcoming substance abuse and the family coming together as one again.

 

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