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What can you do if you suspect an Addiction?
ACCEPT THAT IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY
It’s hard to think that an addiction might affect you or someone you care about. But until you understand that addictions can happen to anyone – even in the best of families – you may miss the signs, including some of the following:
• Loss of interest in appearance, job, school,
hobbies, family, friends, etc.
• Excessive, compulsive interests
• New set of friends or acquaintances
• Irritable, aggressive, paranoid, nervous
• Sluggish, distorted sleeping patterns
• Weight loss/gain, rapid or slurred speech
• Excessive perspiration, odd smells
• Distant, secretive, hiding items
• Financial problems, arguments about money
• Parents or grandparents who are addicted
• Criminal activity
REJECT THE EMBARRASSMENT THAT KEEPS
YOU FROM ACTING
If you have high blood pressure, you treat it immediately with medicine. If you have diabetes, you treat it first by modifying your diet. If you have a cancer, you treat it with chemotherapy.
Addictions require treatment as well – to learn new behaviors that allow you to cope without the addiction.
- Addictions have a hereditary aspect: each addicted parent or grandparent places you at a higher risk for addiction.
- There is a biological response in the brain that triggers the addiction process. Some people reach that trigger sooner than others, and lose the ability to step away from whatever they become addicted to.
- No matter what the reason or what the addiction, there is a change in the chemistry of the brain.
- If you are addicted, you have a disease. Ask for help – just as you would ask a doctor about a health issue.
EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS – QUICKLY
People can recover from even the strongest of addictions. But addictions become stronger over time, so no one benefits from waiting and wondering what to do. Act as soon as you suspect a problem.
• Talk with your loved one about your concerns as soon as you suspect. Hold a family meeting if that is your family style. Try to get an idea of what the person is involved with, and how often.
• If you are still concerned after the discussion, call a hotline or a treatment center for advice. It’s important to speak with someone who has experience with addictions.
• Check your insurance policy to see how addictions treatment is covered, and for how long. If you don’t have insurance, look for an agency that has a sliding fee scale. Or call Heartland Family Service in southwest Iowa at 322-1407, or in Omaha
at 553-3000.
COMMIT TO THE TREATMENT & AFTERCARE PROCESS
To an addict, the several months during and after treatment is a difficult and uncomfortable stage, even when he or she is fully committed to recovery. Addicts need a tremendous amount of support during this time.
• If an evaluation is recommended, only the client can make the appointment. Convince him or her to do it ASAP.
• Treatment plans are tailored to the individual, and will include both one-onone and group therapy.
• Family members should participate in the family component so they understand the process and how to support their loved one.
• Learn how to refrain from encouraging or enabling the triggers to addictive behavior in the addict.
• Don’t expect that things will be back to normal the day the person “graduates” from treatment. Allow some time to restore balance.
• Understand that relapse may be part of the recovery process. Think of how easy it is to fall off a diet, to have a cigarette after
quitting smoking, or to gamble away more than you should. Quitting any addiction is hard, and it might take more than one try.We offer professional evaluations and treatment in Omaha and Council Bluffs. Counseling my include individual or group. We also work with family and often counsel the gambler and his or her spouse together.
Download a copy of our brochure A Family Approach to Addiction. Download »
To request a printed copy of our brochure A Family Approach to Addiction email info@heartlandfamilyservice.org
See our Professional Counseling page for more information on substance abuse services.
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