How To Stage An Alcohol Intervention
Chris Channing
When you have a loved one who is an alcoholic, life is complicated. It is hard enough to live with an alcoholic, and sometimes it proves even harder just trying not to give them more reasons to drink. You don't want to enable their addiction by being seen as the "bad guy" and at the same time you desperately want them to get help for their problem. If you know a family member has a self-destructive drinking problem, then an intervention might be the only way to get through to them.
The ultimate goal of an alcoholic intervention is to get the alcoholic to enter a treatment facility, hopefully willing to change their ways and live a sober life. If you aren't prepared to sacrifice time with the alcoholic in your life in order to get them healthy, then an intervention simply isn't the answer.
Who to Ask for Help
But who do you contact in such a situation? First, you should try and reach a substance abuse counselor who can be present at the intervention and help mediate the entire affair. During interventions, pleas for a sober lifestyle are often seen as personal attacks by the person with the drinking problem. A counselor can not only advise you on what to say, but they can also help determine how to best help the person with the drinking problem.
During interventions, the person being intervened upon is often in shock that what they have walked into is actually taking place. It may be smart to drop hints that you have been speaking to a professional regarding their problem, and that you would like for them to seek treatment. This is one of the first of several risky moves that could end badly, so make sure you ask a counselor for advice before following through with this step.
One of the people who would perhaps like to see your alcoholic friend or family member get sober that you might not have even considered is their employer. More frequently interventions for alcoholics take place at the place they work, because it is one of the few places they go where they aren't too terribly drunk. Make sure the employer is sympathetic to your plight and understands your intentions, and if you're in doubt about speaking to an employer then ask a counselor first.
Although interventions are inherently risky and can make matters worse both for you and the alcoholic in your life, it cannot be denied that continuing to abuse alcohol is far more dangerous than a failed intervention. If you believe a life is dependent on this intervention, then it is the only choice you have.
With alcoholism, there is not any known cure, but there is treatment. Four weeks at a treatment facility is only part of a lifetime spent sober, and you must always think about what will happen if either the intervention or the treatment fail. Don't offer ultimatums that you don't plan on delivering on. Becoming properly prepared for failure is the key to success. Best of luck to you.
About the Author:
|
