Addiction is a disease that only has the power to tear apart the mind and body of the addict but also the relationships with their friends and family. Watching someone going throw the throws of addiction is tough and at times you may feel helpless. Despite this yo are going to need to be strong for you friend or family member if you want them to beat their addiction for good. Here are some tips on how you can aid someone that you know or love overcome a drug or alcohol habit.

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Shine a Mirror

There is often a cliche thrown around that an addict will only seek help when they hit rock bottom or when they want to. This is true to a point but your role as someone they know is equally important as you need to be able to shine a mirror on their life, essentially helping them realize that they are indeed at rock bottom. Don’t force the issue of getting someone in to rehab, they will more than likely tell you where to go.

Listening

Despite the affliction that your friend or family member has it is important that you are still there for them to listen to their problems and concerns. Remember that you are not a drugs counselor but the conversations that you have with the addict can set the ball rolling which will see them visit a professional for help. There are great websites out there like Heather Taras drugs which offer advice for people like yourself directly from drugs counselors. The groundwork you do with your friend or family member will serve them well going forward.

Don’t be an Accessory

Make sure that your friend or family member is well aware of the boundaries between you and them and whilst you are there to support them, you are not there to support their addiction. That means not giving them money or allowing them to use you to collect drugs or drink for them. It can be hard seeing someone you know going through the difficulty of withdrawal but just keep thinking of the greater good. You may be helping them in the short term but in the long term you will be doing them a great deal of damage.

Don’t Abandon Them

However tempting it may be to abandon your loved one or friend during their addiction, you need to try as hard as you can to avoid doing this. Abandoning them could send them spiraling further down the path of addiction. You are going to be strong in order to keep the addict in your life as they may well cause you great amounts of pain, they may steal from you, hurt you or emotionally blackmail you. This is probably the hardest part of helping an addict but you just need to keep in mind the person that they were before the addiction and remember that the person you are seeing right now os not really them.