There are long term negative effects that come with drug use that many people don’t realize until it’s already too late and they have become addicted. It’s important for everyone to know that there can be life after addiction treatment.
A great way to help an addict find the motivation to get clean is to highlight all of the improvements that come in their lives when they aren’t using drugs. The following guide can serve as a cheat sheet to use during an intervention to help an addiction if they want to overcome it.
Improve Relationships with Loved Ones
Let the addict know that quitting drugs will allow them to rebuild relationships with the people that they love. Loved ones often put distance between themselves and the addicts that they love out of fear of getting hurt or because they don’t want the person to think that they condone their actions.
Once an addict gets help for their addiction, most relationships can be rebuilt and sometimes are stronger than they ever were before the addiction occurred.
Create a Healthier Future
Drugs can have a huge impact on the health of a person. It can cause them to lose weight, put stress on their organs, and diminish their ability to think clearly and often times warp their perception of reality. When someone first stops using drugs, it will put a toll on their body. Their body will go through withdrawal symptoms that can be intense. They may experience sleeplessness, shaking, nausea, headaches and even diarrhea. In a treatment facility, they can receive medications that will make the process easier.
Ensure Clear Mental Health
When someone stops using drugs they are often able to start thinking clearly again in a very short period of time. Addicts often become mentally addicted to the drugs as well as physically addicted to them.
They crave the way that the drugs make them feel emotional and are often trying to treat some form of mental condition that they may have never been diagnosed with or one that they want to hide from the world. Once someone is able to think clearly, they can seek the right treatment for any mental health issue they may have and begin to live a more productive life.
Get Out of Debt
Drugs are costly. It’s not common to see a drug addict that is living in the lap of luxury because most drug addicts choose drugs over paying their bills or saving their money for a rainy day. Many addicts don’t realize just how much money they are spending on drugs each and every day until they stop using and see how much money they really have to spend on things.
Be the Best Parents Possible
Parenting as a drug addict is difficult. Drugs can hamper the person’s ability to provide the emotional support that children need. They often take situations too seriously or too lightly and make it difficult for their child to learn the proper coping mechanisms they need to live a mentally healthy life.
Once someone stops using drugs, they can make better choices and can even go to parenting classes so that they can learn how to be the best parent possible. They learn how to deal with hard situations so that they can provide their children with the advice they need to make the right decisions in the future. They can also become an example for their child to look up to, which can be very rewarding.
Get a Great Job
Drug addicts don’t usually put forth a lot of effort at work because they are often very high and can’t concentrate like other workers do. This limits their ability to advance in their career. Many drug addicts end up losing their jobs because they fail drug tests and make it impossible to do their jobs safely.
Once the person stops using drugs, they are going to be able to open up their employment opportunities because they are no longer limited by the ability to pass a drug test or push themselves to do their best at work.
Avoid Going to Jail
When someone is using drugs, there is always a chance that they will be caught with the drugs on them, buying drugs from a drug dealer or caught using the drugs. Drug use or possession is a big deal with the legal system.
It could cause someone to be incarcerated for a very long time depending on the circumstances of their arrest. If an addict stops using drugs they no longer have to worry about possibly getting arrested or running from the police because they won’t be doing anything wrong that could potentially get them arrested.
Decrease the Chances of Physical Harm
One of the biggest issues that come with drug use is the potential for harm that the addicts are subjected to. When an addict goes somewhere to buy drugs or to do them, they never know what is going to happen. There are many times when people are injured or even killed when they are trying to score drugs. When someone stops using, they no longer put themselves in dangerous situations involving drugs which decreases the chances of them being harmed by other drug users in an attempt to get something from them.
When you talk to a loved one about their addiction, it’s important to highlight all of the positive features about them. They need to know that they are loved and that the intervention is coming from a place of love. That people care about them and that’s why they want the person to get help to overcome their addiction. It’s best to be properly prepared to ensure that the people holding the intervention have a game plan in place if the addict agrees to go to treatment for their addiction. Having a treatment facility already lined up, funding for the treatment and caregivers for their children and their pets can make the decision to get help easier for them.
