I have seen a few questions in various threads that either are about intervention or sound like intervention is needed. As there is no General topic for Helping Family and Friends with addictions, I am posting this in all three subtopics so everyone are sure to see it. I am posting two links to places that talk about the steps for intervention. And one for a Intervention Service. These could help those who are trying to help someone who is an addict. You want to go in and do this right because if done wrong... well you don't want the intervention to fail. The biggest thing though is that if the intervention does not work, do not blame yourself. The person has to choose to get clean. No amount of intervention will help until they are ready. Just let them know you will be with them every step of the way and they do not have to do it alone. Intervention Steps Five Major Steps to Intervention Intervention Services, Inc.
Yes an intervention should be done with caution and you do need support of others to help with doing this. Good links here! All that can be done is to try your best to get them to see that they need help and that there is a problem. Most addicts do not know how far gone they are and they are made aware with the intervention. They sometimes do need a push in the right direction and that will make them see that others care and that they are sick. It is up to the individual to want to get help but sometimes they just dont know that they need it.
I agree with the reply above. Lots of support is needed when you intend on doing an intervention. The person does not want to feel like everyone is ganging up on them. They want to understand that you feel there is a problem that is getting out of hand. You only want the best for them.
Intervention would only be successful if everyone from the friends & family would go and participate to help their addicted family member. The addict would push back and be very resilient but they have to see what you are doing. When you doing the intervention make sure you have every thing to show forth. If you intervene wrong the then you are not helping the issue. Come out hard and be determined and then that should fix things from here.
I believe that if a family or group of friends plans an intervention, they need to be prepared for everything that will ensue afterwards. They'll need to be that person's backbone while they go through rehab or whatever it is they plan to do to overcome their addiction. The most important thing for overcoming my addiction was the support from my loved ones who intervened when I didn't realize that I was ruining my life. If they hadn't of stuck around I definitely wouldn't be here typing this message.
I would not respond well to an intervention, if it was done like they show it on TV. I would feel ganged up on, and I would be too embarrassed to respond in the right way. For me, I would like it much more if an individual came to me in private with their concerns. It would still get my attention, and I would be more apt to listen.
My aunt she is an achololic and she has liver failed. She continues to drink her life away. She has been through rehab a few times. She has been clean for years at one point. When her husband came home from prison she started drinking. He pulled her back into drinking. After all our family has done to help her it didn't matter anymore. The drug addict have to want help. If they don't want it there's no point in wasting your time because that addict is going to continue to do the drug. He/she has to want it more then anybody.
I think that it really depends on the personality of the person who needs help...but also when people are addicted sometimes they don't want to hear the hard truth about what they're doing to themselves. I feel that the television show intervention is a real crock personally. The way that they all bombard someone in that way is kind of extreme, but, I also feel like everyone who wants to be present for the recovery process needs to intervene. It's all about how people go about it, I think.
I would not want to stage an intervention with a family member, but if a family member of mine wanted to stage one for someone who was in trouble in the family, I would be there to support it. None of my immediate family has had any serious drug addictions, although some of them have smoked w e e d for years, they function, own homes, own cars, have grandchildren, so one really can't chide them about what they do, because they don't want to hear it because they're "successful". I've had extended family members that were/are addicted to crack, coke, liquor, and from my experience with them, I would not even try to do an intervention. Maybe because they are not "blood" family, and so different from my real family, they just don't seem receptive to help.
I agree that no amount of intervention can work until the affected individual is personally up to it. He should be committed to getting himself out of that mess and he should be ready to make some sacrifices and some tough choices.Those are very important links you posted and kudos for that.Intervention is a process and and all efforts should be geared to ensure that it is a success.