One of the hardest things to get through in life is conquering addiction. It could be anything; from drugs, alcohol, or gambling. Addiction is like a hunger in one’s blood that is extremely hard to give up. So when people have an addiction for something, everything they do in their life is by satisfying that hunger.
It is a tough state and seeing a friend who is battling with an addiction is even tougher. They will need all the help they need, but sometimes; you simply do not know how to approach them without intimidating or scaring them away.
If you have a friend who is currently battling with a certain addiction, here are five tips on how you can help them.
1. Approach them with care and express your concern.This is the most difficult thing to do when you are just starting out to tell your friend about their addiction. You have to be persuasive with your words but at the same time, you need to sound non-accusing. Let them know and feel your deep concern so that they will understand and acknowledge the fact that they have a problem.
2. Encourage them to seek professional help.
While you assure them that you will be there to help them, they will also need assistance from professionals who are an expert in this field. Seeking professional help will help them big time with treatment. With this, they will also gain new friends through group counseling as they will meet other people who are struggling with addiction too.
3. Let your friend understand that having an addiction is an illness.All too often, people who are battling with addiction justify their actions that they just have a moral weakness. Let them understand that addiction is a destructive illness that could potentially cause the destruction of their lives and their loved ones. Guide them and help them recognize that they need to abstain from whatever it is they are addicted of so they will be free from it.
4. Educate them on some facts and effects of having an addiction.Most people who are battling with addiction just settle on their situation because they don’t have any idea what it could do to them. Present facts about a certain type of addiction, but avoid being judgmental and providing your own opinion. Just tell them the facts straight and they may not listen right away, but at least you have planted a seed in their minds.
5. Offer hope.
Hopelessness is one of the toughest mental issues that may hinder someone’s road to abstinence from a certain addiction. Let your friend see hope by always being there and for helping them out with their treatment. Oftentimes, people who try going for a treatment do not continue because they think they are a hopeless case. There is always hope in the living. Share them some stories and let them see people who have struggled with addiction in the past. You don’t need to do everything. Just let them see a glimmer of hope and it could change everything.
Disclosure: Guest Post
Photo Credit: VCAM
