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Is It The Right Time?

It is always hard to see a loved one struggle with a problem, especially when there is nothing you can do to help them. Drug abuse and use is one of these problems. Even though it is certainly true that people will recover much better when treatment is their own idea, it is sometimes important for you as a parent or spouse of someone with a drug problem to intervene and take the decision out of their hands. They might not realize that they have a problem, so they might cringe at the idea of treatment. Or, they might know they have a problem but are unable to confront it.

For whatever reason, there definitely are times when those with a problem refuse treatment. If this is the case, there is very little you can do for the person. Nevertheless, sometimes, you as a parent or spouse can force your loved one into a drug rehabilitation program. In these certain cases, the person you love might enter the rehabilitation program completely unaware s/he has a problem, and might resent you for placing him/her into the rehabilitation program. Keep in mind, however, with the right treatment and the right frame of mind, most of the time, your loved one is going to find out s/he does indeed have a problem that needs to be addressed. Once this is admitted to, the healing process can begin.

It might be that you are faced with a decision of when to put your loved one into a drug rehabilitation program. This is a very difficult decision. Sometimes, it is not made correctly because a parent or spouse of someone with a drug problem does not want the person to have a reason to be angry at them, and they in turn avoid bringing up the subject and avoid getting the person help. However, in the long run something like this will do more harm than good. There are certain times that you just have to force someone to try to get help. Even if s/he seems to be angry with you at the start, s/he is going to figure out that you were right, and s/he is going to thank you for it in the long run.

The decision of when exactly to seek help for someone you love is difficult. Essentially, you should get help from a drug rehabilitation program for someone you love when s/he can no longer control the addiction. At that point, you will be able to tell that s/he is completely out of control. If this is the case, the person will not be able to stop on her/his own, and you probably would not be able to make him/her stop. You will have no choice but to admit them to a drug rehabilitation program in the hopes that the professionals will be able to help him/her figure out how to stop using and abusing.

You should also consider a drug rehabilitation program for someone who has hurt him/herself or others due to drug use. In a case like this, you might not able to trust the addict to make her/his own decisions when it comes to their treatment. You might have to put her/him somewhere to get clean. Once this has happened, s/he will most likely be willing to listen to people and get help. Often it is the drugs that are talking when someone says s/he does not believe help is needed, and it is the drugs that produce the anger that occurs when you force someone into a rehab center.

You should always consider that, while you can sometimes force a loved one to enter an addiction treatment program, this does not always mean s/he is going to get well. Sooner or later, a person must decide for him/herself to stop using and to get well. Once that decision is made, only then will the addict be able to make a much more successful and longer lasting recovery.

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