Help A Loved One: Stage An Intervention For Alcohol Abuse

When a family member or close friend is struggling with alcohol addiction, there is nothing worse than watching them being consumed by this harmful substance, and although you endeavour to talk to them about how their disorder is having a detrimental impact, your concerns and worries seem to fall on deaf ears. You feel powerless knowing there is very little you can do.

Naturally, you may feel lost in the situation, scared about how they will react or you can’t find a way to be honest and explain how their addiction is also affecting you and others, but you are not powerless or unable to help, all you may need is to stage an alcohol intervention that may help your loved one recognise and understand their problem which is a first positive step in the right direction for getting help.

This blog will explain how to stage an intervention for alcohol use disorder and how an intervention may be effective for a loved one to find professional help and seek treatment for their substance abuse.

How To Stage An Alcohol Intervention

Alcohol dependence is increasing at an alarming rate and is considered a medical condition yet a large percentage of drinkers do not access the treatment they urgently need to recover from addiction, partly because they do not recognise they have a problem or will not accept the substance has damaging effects to the body.

This is why it is frustrating when you are trying to help and encourage someone to get treatment but they refuse due to them being so absorbed in their addiction.

The most difficult aspect is when family and friends observe someone suffering and struggling yet the person in question cannot see it and continue inflicting themselves with alcohol.

This is when you could decide on staging an intervention and use it as a valuable tool to expose the problem and get them to listen. The goal of an intervention is to allow the person to accept an issue and understand there is support to tackle it.

To set up an intervention, family and friends should engage in learning about alcohol use disorder so they are aware of the stages of addiction and underlying issues that could be related to a drinking problem.

A plan should be put in place to address the issues having the most concern, and how it is affecting you and your lives, and make a list of the topics you wish to address.

The next step is to find a suitable place to stage the intervention. It is not necessary to have professional help but many people find it more effective to have a moderator present so the conversation is progressive and continuous.

A professional interventionist can also mitigate if and when a conversation takes a turn for the worse ensuring the safety of all participants, especially if there are signs of severe mood swings or acts of violence.

It is normal to expect adverse reactions from your loved one, and you may hear unpleasant remarks or comments that can hurt your feelings or learn about other issues that you find frustrating or even heartbreaking, but it is crucial you remain calm and collected even if there are heated discussions.

It is a natural reaction to retaliate verbally, but this can only worsen the situation, and your loved one will feel defensive, and the intervention process may come to a sudden halt. Give yourself a moment or two to take deep breaths, regain your thoughts, and try not to get worked up or agitated by anything that diverts from the main focus of allowing your loved one to listen and accept their condition.

Many intervention professionals suggest that before intervention with your loved one, you rehearse what you want to say and consider the main points without sidetracking from the conversation and topic.

An effective intervention with a friend or family member struggling with addiction should engage with examples to support your worries and concerns. These examples can relate to specific situations or incidents when a loved one may have been difficult or caused a major impact due to excessive drinking.

Whatever the issues may be, or as harsh as they appear, you need to focus on the negative outcomes, whether physical, emotional, personal, or professional. These highlighted problems will help your loved one listen and understand better to realise that changes have to be made.

Help A Loved One With Alcoholism Before Ending An Intervention

Whether you conduct a brief intervention yourself or with a specialised intervention team, before the closing stages, your loved one should be offered treatment options and solutions to address their substance use disorder and overcome their addiction. Hence, they are aware of being able to reach out for help and regain control of their life.

When discussing treatment plans or finding help with alcohol rehab centres, it is crucial not to pressurise or decide for them. Remember, their agreement to get help is a massive decision and needs to be respected. They should not feel guilty or blamed for their addiction, to the contrary, they should receive your full support and encouragement constantly, and let them know they are not alone on their journey to recovery. Your help is vital every step of the way once they agree to accept treatment.

At this point, you should take into account that not all interventions can work and sometimes a person may not want to participate in the intervention. This doesn’t mean you should give up as they may want to seek help later or be more willing to listen to a professional counsellor rather than friends, there could be several reasons why.

The most important thing to remember is that intervention allows everyone to air their views on an individual’s alcohol problems and face their loved one with the support they need.

After a successful intervention meeting, promises should be kept and followed through vigorously. That could mean finding adequate treatment for their condition, stopping funding their drinking problem, providing them with daily needs they have neglected, or even seeking a mental health professional if that may be needed.

Whatever the outcome, you need to put a plan in place as soon as possible and demonstrate to your loved one that they have made the right decision and are not alone as they embark on their path to a happier life.

Primary Goal Of An Intervention

Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is a disease, and if left untreated, it can have a serious impact on the body and mind and, in severe cases, can be life-threatening, although many victims of this condition find it extremely difficult to accept they have an illness.

However, if someone is motivated to seek treatment during an alcohol intervention and the final decision is theirs alone, it is paramount to submit them to treatment as early as possible.

Serious cases of AUD will typically require being admitted to an inpatient rehab centre and will undergo the detox process by eliminating all traces of the substance from the body. This process can take anywhere between 7 to 14 days and is associated with the most unpleasant stage of rehabilitation as several withdrawal symptoms can manifest, some of which can be harmful to health or even fatal.

This is why most alcohol detox treatment is carried out and supervised by medical professionals who can monitor and intervene with any implications. After a successful detox, the patient transitions to the rehabilitation phase where they receive round-the-clock support and therapies as part of their personalised alcohol addiction programme.

Depending on the length of rehab and progress the patient has made, they will be referred to ongoing support programmes as an outpatient to continue on their way to recovery and sobriety.

Sivana Bali provides a comprehensive spectrum of substance addiction treatments to help anyone seeking help to overcome their problem, including alcohol addiction treatment with medically managed alcohol detox treatment to prevent and control unpleasant withdrawal symptoms and ensure a safe and secure environment for the patient.

We understand the challenges of addiction and how important it is to find help, especially when an individual has accepted their problem and needs to receive early treatment. With this in mind, why don’t you give us a call today and we will be pleased to give you all the necessary information you need and help you with your decisions.