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What Can You Do to Help a Drug Addict?

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When someone that you love is dealing with drug addiction, it can leave you feeling concerned and helpless. And if you are close to an addict, the chances are that their addiction is having a real impact on you personally. However, you may be able to do more for them than you realize. Addiction is a largely personal struggle, but that does not mean that you cannot help an addict and help ease their suffering just a little. If someone that you love is struggling with drug addiction, here are some of the things that you can do for them.

Try to Understand

Before you can help someone that is suffering, you must first do your best to try to understand as much as you can about what they are going through. This can be hard for someone who has never experienced it for themselves to understand, but there are still ways in which you can put yourself in their shoes – without taking drugs yourself of course! Understand that addiction can happen to anyone -it is not a sign of weakness or a character flaw of the person, it should be treated the same as an illness. Try going to a meeting of recovering addicts to help you to understand what life is like for them, as well as the battle they are going through.

Be Honest

If you are worried about someone who you may think is addicted to drugs, honesty is the best policy. This may be hard, as it is likely that they will not be entirely honest with you. Addicts will often resort to lying and deceit in order to hide their addiction. However, this only increases the
need for you to be 100 percent upfront with them. If you are worried about them, sit them down and tell them so. If you are concerned about their safety, consider putting together an intervention.

Offer Support

You can try conversations and interventions, but when it comes down to it, you cannot do anything without the addict themselves accepting that they have a problem. However, that does not mean that you cannot support them. In fact, the most important thing that you can do is to be there for them. Help them to know that you will support them through their recovery and that you will be there for them when they come out of rehab. Recovering from addiction is a difficult and painful process, so your friend will need all of the support that you can offer.

Realize that it is an Individual Struggle

After all that you have done, there still comes a point when you have to take a step back and let them sort themselves out. No one can change them but themselves, and after a certain point you have to realize this and stand by them for support. Remember that you cannot control their life for them, but you can help them to take control of their life. That is what a good friend is for.