What to do to help someone with drug addiction?

Addictions are among the most common psychological and psychiatric disorders. For this reason, it is possible that someone in your environment that you know has gone through these types of problems.

However... How to help someone with drug addiction? Each case requires solutions adapted to the context that is lived, but in general there are a series of guidelines that help a lot to leave drug addiction behind.

• Related article: "The 14 most important types of addictions"

What to do to help a person with drug addiction?

Here are some useful tips to support someone who has developed dependence on one or more addictive substances.

1. Make him see the problem

Letting that person see that they have a problem is essential for them to start their path towards overcoming drug addiction. Yes indeed, do not do it with a hostile attitude, or that will only serve to alienate that person from our lives.

A good way to do this is by helping him see the positives of a drug-free life, and showing him that addiction can be left behind.

• You may be interested: "15 consequences of drug use (in your mind and in your body)"

2. Do not interrupt your consumption

Do not act like a policeman by imposing material limitations on that person's access to drugs (for example, throwing away the addictive substance without their permission). It is a way of creating a strong rejection of the idea of ​​giving in to that blackmail and stop using to satisfy someone who does not respect their decisions.

3. Recommend that you study your drug use patterns

A good way to start letting go of addiction is to focus on the sensations and situations that anticipate the irrepressible desire to use.

So to help someone with a drug addiction, it is a good idea to promote a better understanding of how your body works. In this way he will understand to what extent he does not control this type of behavior, but there are mechanisms that act outside his will.

4. Encourage you to go to therapy

Going to psychological therapy is very important to reinforce that person's commitment to the recovery process, in addition to provide you with information and tools and strategies to manage your discomfort abstinence.

On the other hand, medical attention is also important to help you get the physiological and neurological aspects of addiction under control, and to avoid certain Dangerous situations for health (for example, in people with a strong addiction to certain substances, stopping using dry and without medical guidance can be very risky).

5. Help you create short-term goals

To help someone with drug addiction, you also have to make it easy for them to not see this process as a long-term goal, but as something that brings benefits in the short and medium term. In this way, he will have greater motivation.

For example, create together a program of challenges to carry out with daily frequency (the simplest ones) and weekly (others more complicated) and whose overcoming can make you feel good: no pass a certain cocktail bar, perform relaxation exercises when withdrawal anxiety becomes higher, etc. If possible, do it in a coordinated way with the plans of the psychotherapist who is handling the case.

6. Take an interest in their progress

Asking her how her rehab process is going helps her to commit to the therapy, as long as it is not done in an overly insistent way or by performing authentic interrogations. You just have to be interested in the subject in a way in which the other person speaks more than we do, giving them the opportunity to focus on the positive aspects of it all.

A) Yes, we will be creating an extra incentive for you to continue progressing: If you relapse, you will have to tell us or lie to someone who precisely pays close attention to your progress. Neither experience is pleasant, and you'll have more reason to keep improving.

Of course, what you should not do is assume that your drug addiction past is a taboo subject and that you do not want to talk about it because it embarrasses you; this would only contribute to his return to drugs, as he will believe that it would not have too many effects beyond their own life, without considering that it is an issue that concerns their loved ones and friends.

7. Help you not isolate yourself socially

Loneliness is one of the direct routes to relapse in those people who already have a past of drug use. For this reason, a good part of the detoxification and rehabilitation process goes through the support of those people who interact with the patient on a day-to-day basis.

Carry out activities together, give them the opportunity to participate in projects in which their contributions are valued, make it easy for them to express themselves and share their illusions and Concerns in contexts in which there is trust is crucial, and it is something that must be maintained indefinitely, also once the psychotherapy phase is completed to detox.

So, to help someone who has passed the withdrawal syndrome but is still vulnerable to the desire to use drugs, seek help from others and, together, create environments in which that person can enjoy an active social life (And, of course, in which addictive substances are practically non-existent or, in the case of alcohol, it remains very much in the background).

You can also give him support so that through you he can have new friends away from drugs. In this way, little by little the association between "substance use" and "free time" and "fun" will be weakened. at the same time that the chances that you will find sources of motivation that have nothing to do with the drug addiction.

Looking for help?

If you are interested in having psychologists who are experts in drug addiction treatment, visit us at Instituto de Psicología Psicode. Our team of psychotherapists has many years of experience helping to overcome these kinds of disorders, both in the initial phases and in later rehabilitation. To see our contact details, click click here.

Bibliographic references:

• Nestler EJ (October 2008). Transcriptional mechanisms of addiction: Role of ΔFosB. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 363 (1507): pp. 3245 - 3255.
• Kalivas PW, Volkow ND (August 2005). The neural basis of addiction: a pathology of motivation and choice. The American Journal of Psychiatry. 162 (8): 1403–13.
• Torres, G., Horowitz J.M. (1999). Drugs of abuse and brain gene expression. Psychosom Med. 61 (5): 630 - 650.