Do you know how to help someone recovering from an addiction?
A person in recovery is making an effort to overcome an addiction. An addict may go to rehab to overcome drug addiction, while an alcoholic goes to rehab to get sober from alcohol.
While our society makes a distinction between alcohol and drugs, alcohol is clearly a drug. Alcohol is worse than many other drugs of abuse, because it has no health benefits or legitimate medical use at all. Additionally, it is one of the most harmful drugs of abuse, causing serious harm to the brain and body.
Most families do not know how to support an addict in recovery. Family members may each have their opinions and theories on the best way to help.
Some people in the family may think they know how to help someone in recovery, and that the best way to help is to treat them like a misbehaving pet. They are quick to point out when their recovering family member is wrong or out of line.
These well-meaning family members may believe that addiction is not a real mental health condition, but more of an issue of rebelling and acting out. They want the addict or alcoholic to “snap out of it” and start acting “normal.”
Here is how to help an addict recover.
If you want to know how to help recovering addicts, learn to see their struggle as one against a real health condition. Some people believe that use of the word “disease” is not appropriate for addictions.
Yet, a disease is a disorder of structure or function, and addiction is a disorder of function as a result of changes in the structure of the brain. Hence, addiction to drugs or alcohol is as much of a disease as diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol.
When considering how to support a recovering alcoholic, keep in mind that, like diabetes, high blood pressure, or high cholesterol, there are complex genetic and environmental components involved. One person may drink alcohol and never become an alcoholic, while another person who drinks the same amount will develop alcohol use disorder.
We must remember that it is not a matter of simply being a strong-willed person. Just because one person can stop drinking easily does not make someone else a bad person because they are unable to stop.
While there are social consequences of drug use and abuse, the person who uses drugs or alcohol excessively due to an addiction is not acting out for attention. They are struggling with a real brain disorder that requires medical treatment.
Would we shake our heads in disapproval and condemnation if a person had a seizure or stroke? Those are also brain disorders that can affect behavior, and we are generally aware that they require immediate medical attention.
Can listening to an alcohol recovery podcast help family members and friends to learn how to help someone in recovery?
Listening to a podcast episode about alcohol recovery may help the family of an alcoholic to do a better job in supporting their recovery. However, there are addiction recovery podcasts that may be misleading and give inappropriate advice.
When in doubt, consider the fact that people with addiction problems are human beings who deserve respect. Many of the traditional recovery groups teach “tough love” in which the family treats their loved one as a broken human being with moral failings.
They talk about healing the addiction with prayer and connecting with a higher power. The recovering person is expected to examine their defects and shortcomings, and make a list of people they have harmed.
While these activities may be very positive for people in general, would we ask a cancer patient to pray for healing? Would we make it a central theme of conversations to point out how they put themselves in this situation?
Prayer for healing is not a bad idea, but people with medical problems require medical attention. Sitting around in a support group is not going to talk away the problem.
What kind of podcast might help a family member or friend to support their loved one in recovery?
An addiction podcast or alcohol podcast that discusses the latest medical treatments for addiction to drugs and alcohol may be more helpful. Imagine being on the verge of sending a loved one to rehab, only to learn that a local doctor can prescribe treatment that is more effective than rehab.
A podcast that discusses harm reduction and treating people with respect, even if they have an addiction, is also important. In the beginning of this article, I used the words “addict” and “alcoholic.”
These terms were included to get the attention of the reader, but we should understand that they can be offensive. Calling someone an addict is a way of putting them down and making it clear that they are less than other people.
A person is more than their disease. A person who has an addiction is in no way a less valuable person than anyone else. They deserve the same respect and understanding as anyone else.
If we want to help a loved one in recovery, we might start by not saying things such as, “You’re an addict!” It can be just as harmful to talk behind someone’s back, saying that their behavior is due to their being an alcoholic.
What medical treatments are available for people who want to overcome an addiction?
There are many scientifically based treatments for addictions to drugs or alcohol. For example, The Sinclair Method (TSM) is an excellent way to help someone safely taper off of alcohol using medication-assisted treatment.
Similarly, there is medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction as well. There are multiple medications used in conjunction with therapy to help the opiate-addicted person to overcome addiction to heroin, fentanyl, or pain pills.
For people addicted to stimulants, such as cocaine, amphetamine, or methamphetamine, there are some new treatments being used to help reduce cravings. It is important to keep up with medical news, as treatments are being developed and refined all the time.
In the future, there is hope for new treatments that utilize psychedelic therapy combined with intensive psychotherapy. It is believed that these novel treatments help to reset the brain and provide a new perspective to the person who is addicted.
Another very interesting development is the category of digital prescription therapeutics. These software tools help to treat people with addictions using advances in software and smartphone technology.
As you can see, addiction is a medical condition that can be helped by addressing it like any other medical condition. The patient deserves to be treated with respect, and they deserve access to the best possible medical care.
