We’ve seen and heard about it thousands of times. You are doing laundry or cleaning the house and you find your spouse’s, parent’s, or child’s stash of drugs and/or alcohol hidden somewhere. You had no idea that they were using and are shocked and angry to name a couple of the emotions. What do you do? What should you say to them? We are going to try and lay out a method of tackling this problem.
Think First, Don’t React | Waves of emotion may be rolling over you and the first thought could be to yell and scream at the person. This is the point that you will be at your highest level of anger and disappointment. Think about what you can say without all the anger behind your words. This will get the conversation off to a better start than if you just get angry.
Prepare | Before you say anything to your friend or family member, do some research about the substances you found. This is when you can reach out to someone that is skilled in the field of treating addiction. Clearbrook has staff members that are educated and experienced in handling these types of situations.
Set Some Ground Rules | One of the hardest parts of combatting addiction is setting some boundaries, and holding the line when they challenged. You have to convey that drinking and drug use will not be tolerated under any circumstances. You’ll also need to explain that there will be consequences if they do choose to use and what those consequences are.
Give Them A Chance To Talk | A one sided conversation is going to go nowhere fast. Let the person explain what is going on in their life and how they are feeling. When we allow this it shows the person that we are not just angry, but that we care and we want to help them.
Call A Drug Rehab or Alcohol Rehab | Hopefully after you’ve talked, the person is at least willing to talk to a facility that treats addiction. These are the people that can get on the same level that the addict/alcoholic; they speak the same language. At Clearbrook, we understand and know exactly how the addict/alcoholic feels at any particular time. Most of our staff are in recovery…we’ve been where they are. We will convey the message that we can help, and that we will do anything we can in order to help them turn their life around.
