When your loved one is struggling with addiction, things can reach the point where you feel the need to intervene. However, you need to decide whether staging an intervention is the right thing to do for you and your loved one. There is no way to predict how successful interventions are and what will occur when it is held.
What is an Intervention?
An intervention is a staged event where friends and family members sit down with their loved one to discuss how their addiction impacts everyone around them. The purpose of the intervention is to increase awareness of the impacts the addiction is causing and how the addict’s behavior is affecting those who love them the most.
Ideally, each person should share how the addiction has impacted them and their relationship with the loved one. Then, after each person shares examples, the next step is to discuss what actions will occur.
For example, everyone could state that they will no longer give the addict money. Essentially, there have to be clearly defined consequences that everyone is willing to adhere to put the addict on notice. However, it is vital not to attack or blame the addict. Doing so can have negative results.
Next, everyone discusses how they are willing to support the addict during detox and recovery. After sharing this information, allow your loved one time to process everything discussed.
When is an Intervention Necessary?
It can be difficult to say when an intervention is necessary. Each family’s situation will be different. In general, interventions should be considered when their loved ones can no longer tolerate the addict’s behavior and addiction.
What Makes Interventions Successful?
How successful interventions essentially depend on how well friends and family members can keep their emotions in check. You need to remember interventions can quickly become very emotional for those involved.
It is easy to feel anger and resentment towards your loved one and express this during the intervention. However, doing so can result in an unsuccessful intervention.
Instead, it is better to stick to the facts and provide specific examples of behaviors and how addiction impacts everyone. When expressing feelings, make sure to use blame-free statements.
For instance, you can state, “I feel,” followed by the action, behavior, or emotion you are experiencing and the effect it is having. To illustrate, “I feel afraid every time you are out all night drinking and do not come home.” This approach avoids blaming the addict directly while shifting the blame to the addiction.
Furthermore, the success of an intervention depends on the desired outcome. For example, suppose the initial goal is to make your loved one more aware of the impacts of their addiction on friends and family, and they acknowledge it. In that case, the intervention could be considered successful.
What if an Intervention is Not Successful?
Not all interventions will be successful. There is no way to predict what will occur during an intervention or how your loved one will react. They could easily get up and leave if they feel everyone is ganging up on them if they are not yet ready to admit they have an addiction. In other cases, they can withdraw further or decide to move out.
If an intervention is not successful, it is essential to remain patient and not lose hope. In addition, you and everyone involved in the intervention need to remain firm about their intended actions. Eventually, your loved one will realize they need help.
How to Make Interventions More Successful
If you want to ensure how successful an intervention is, it is highly recommended to get assistance from a professional interventionist. An interventionist helps oversee and manage the intervention so that things do not get overly emotional or out of hand.
Their goal is to guide the friends and family through the process while ensuring the addict is made fully aware of their addiction’s impacts on everyone and the consequences should they decide not to seek help.
Furthermore, an interventionist will practice with those participating in the intervention. They will help stick to the facts and keep emotions at a minimum. They also teach people how to phrase statements to avoid directly blaming the addict.
It can be equally beneficial to make a list and write out your statements to keep things short and to the point. Then, when speaking during an intervention, speak in a calm and collected tone to help put the addict more at ease.
Lastly, never arrange an intervention when the addict is most likely to be at the peak of their “high.” It is better to stage an intervention when they are as sober as possible.
Intervention Support and At-Home Detox in Beverly Hills, CA
When you are ready to stage an intervention for your loved one and encourage them to get at-home detox for their addiction, help is available from MD Home Detox in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, CA.
We offer access to trained and professional interventionists who can help prepare family and friends and lead the intervention. Afterward, if your loved one agrees they need help, we can arrange for concierge-level at-home detox, as well as support and treatment options for the entire family.
For further information about interventions and at-home detox options, please feel free to contact us at 1 (888) 592-8541 today!