Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: What you can do to help?

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem is a journey and not really a destination

In this time of age, it is becoming very difficult to find societies that are free from alcohol abuse or drug addiction. The easy accessibility and affordability of these drugs have made it very difficult in dealing with problems of addiction. Nonetheless with or without the prevailing challenges, we still have a duty to perform in containing the problem. You may overlook at certain things you do as very insignificant but when it is offering any help however negligible it may be, you must not be discouraged. You must soldier on for that little will be very important for the life of your loved one in the long run. We all have a role to play in helping loved ones with drug or alcohol problems and with the help of professionals like doctor Dalal Akoury MD and founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center, we will succeed. And now that we have a professional to consult, let me make enquiry to keep us moving, do you have any member of your family or friend who is struggling with drug addiction or alcohol problem? If you have then you’re probably wondering how you can help. If this describes you, then you are in the right place and with the help of doctor Dalal Akoury we are going to help you get the clarity of some of your concerns as follows:

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: How Can I Tell If I’m Overreacting to a Substance Abuse Problem?

This is a worthy concern because we must always be careful not to raise false alarm particularly with substance abuse. Therefore when you are trying to help it must not be construed to be overreacting. In many situations people will often notice problems or indicators in friends or family member’s work, health, family, finances, relationships, social functioning, legal issues, self-esteem or self-respect these are some of the areas that will give indications that a problem is in the making. You must therefore not be afraid of facing the problem for fear of being accused of being overreacting. Remember that continuing to use substances in spite of the fact that such behavior is causing problems is a big problem in itself. It gives a clear reflection that substance use has become more important than the problems it causes. It therefore goes without mentioned that anyone who is not willing to discuss the issue or consider whether there might be a problem under such conditions clearly demonstrate that an addiction problem do exists. With these indications, the question that follows would be, what are the action points one can take to be safe? The following guidelines will be very helpful:

• Knowledge of all the signs and symptoms of substance use is very important as this will help you make informed decisions on the direction and treatment options to take.
• Before you can make decisions, keenly make observation about the person’s behavior closely over a period of time may be a few days or weeks to have a clear understanding of what is making you to think that there is a problem. Having such information will be very helpful especially when it becomes necessary latter for your to share the same with other members of the family. It is also very important that as you chose to share this with other family members, seeking for pieces of advice from professionals would be very necessary before any decision can be made about the next cause of action.
• With that said and done you can now share your observations with other family members and friends seeking their opinion about the same. The purpose of this is to determine how other people other than you also see the situation. In the event that they are in agreement with your observation, then there is a problem which needs to be fixed and this introduces the next step which is figuring out who will initiate the talk to the person about getting help.
• Up to this point your role would be to ensure that professionalism is observed all through by first contacting experienced substance abuse professional, mental health professional, physician, employee assistance professional, guidance counselor, clergy or other helping professional to help you help your loved one. When sharing with the professionals about your observations, it is important that you describe your family member’s substance use pattern to see whether the professional would deem it a problem. Don’t be mean with information and ensure that you provide details such as the type of alcohol or other drugs, how much the person is using, how often, how long the pattern has continued, negative consequences and the person’s response to discussions or confrontations about substance use.
• Ensure that you and other family members are safe from potential physical or emotional harm. If there is a threat or feat of physical violence you should develop a safety plan.

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: Benefits of Early Identification and Action

Where I hail from there is a wise saying that “the early bird catches the worm” meaning in this context timely identification of drug related problems will give a healthy opportunity for recovery. This is all we need to champion for because we can. It is regrettable that what we watch or read from the media like the movies, books and magazines often portray people who have the “hit bottom” before they can be helped. This is what we have been made to believe and so many people have given up even before making any attempt of seeking for treatment. This is a misleading myth because the truth of the matter is people do not need to bottom out to be helped. It has been established from various studies that early identification of the problem is a much more effective solution for substance use problems.

Experts at AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center a facility which was established by doctor Dalal Akoury primarily to bring a difference in addiction treatment agree that early identification occurs at the first signs of a problem before anyone has suffered a traumatic event, dropped out of school or lost important relationships, jobs, their health or self-respect. It is important to note that identification can be done through various means including a screening by a health care professional, employee assistance professional or even a family member. What happens after the screening depends on the results of the test. Some people can learn to cut back, while some need further assessment and possibly treatment says doctor Akoury.

In general, though, all people are better equipped to work on recovery if their substance use problem is discovered and confronted early. Treatment in the early stages of a substance use disorder is likely to be less intense, less disruptive and cause less anxiety.

When we fail to identify the signs and symptoms in good time, we will be actually waiting for the occurrence of a risky strategy. In other words we all need help in good time and in the absence of that much needed help, family members can only expect crises like arrests for being on the wrong side of the law, medical emergencies due to intoxication, job loss because of bad influence and non-performance, public embarrassment and even death. We will continue with the benefits of early detection in the subsequent articles but in the meantime, you may want to schedule for an appointment with doctor Akoury for professional guidance in the journey of addiction recovery.

Helping loved ones with Drug or Alcohol Problem: What you can do to help?