How to Help an Alcoholic: Guide to Help Someone With Alcoholism

How to Help an Alcoholic: Guide to Help Someone With Alcoholism

  • Apr 08, 2022

Many professional interventionists have a preferred intervention style they use. Approximately 15 percent of those who relapse regress to the precontemplation stage, and approximately 85 percent return to the contemplation stage before progressing to the preparation and action stages. Most people recovering from addiction will cycle through the stages of change three or four times before completing the cycle without a slip. Relapse is a common feature of substance use disorders, and it is more the rule than the exception.

how to do an intervention for an alcoholic

His passion for medical education led to his journey in medical writing. He also serves as medical coordinator and content writer for Gerocare Solutions, for which he also volunteers as a health advisor/consultant for the elderly. Remember that relapse is part of recovery for many individuals, and your loved one may be one of them. Instead, relapse indicates that additional and/or a different form of treatment is necessary. Getting plenty of sleep, eating properly, participating in regular exercise, meditating, even positive self-talk are healthier alternatives to drinking and can help your loved one prevent relapse.

More on Substance Abuse and Addiction

Some individuals find it helpful to write down what they wish to say. Based on clinical experience, many health providers believe that support from friends and family members is important in overcoming alcohol problems. But friends and family may feel unsure about how best to provide the support needed.

During the intervention, the meeting will be overseen by an interventionist. However, seeing other family members there how to do an intervention for an alcoholic will put him or her at ease. An intervention has helped many people solve the crisis of alcoholism in their homes.

Alcoholics Resource Center

At this point, the individual is enjoying the benefits of quitting alcohol while focusing on sustaining the achievements made in the action stage. For many, the action stage is both physically and mentally taxing — and individuals at this stage face a risk of alcohol relapse. The action stage typically lasts from three to six months and sometimes as long as 18 months, but it does not mark the end of the recovery process.

  • Instead, seek advice and guidance from an experienced intervention specialist.
  • An addiction professional will think about what's going on in your loved one's life, suggest the best approach, and guide you in what type of treatment and follow-up plan is likely to work best.
  • If your provider suspects that you have a problem with alcohol, you may be referred to a mental health provider.
  • Codependency is not the only example of a case where a family member should seek help for themselves while seeking help for a loved one.
  • The groups for family and friends listed below may be a good starting point.

At this point, people are committed to change and are preparing to take action within the next several days or weeks. Although they are still drinking, they’ve likely begun telling friends and family members about their plan to change their behavior — but they may still feel some ambivalence about their choice. At the preparation stage, alcoholics have decided to make a change, and they are planning to take meaningful steps toward recovery in the near future.

Do Support, Don’t Enable

It is important to take it seriously and seek treatment as soon as you can. An estimated 95,000 people (approximately 68,000 men and 27,000 women) die from alcohol-related causes annually, making alcohol the third-leading preventable cause of death in the United States. (11) More than 80,000 people in the United States die every year due to alcohol addiction. Addiction may occur slowly and only become apparent when alcohol dependency starts affecting the patient’s social life or health.

They may have problems controlling their drinking habits or choose to keep drinking even though it causes problems. These problems may interfere with their professional and social relationships or even their own health. Using this method, friends, family members, and the intervention specialist all gather in an agreed-upon location—usually somewhere neutral and non-threatening—and confront the loved one together.

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