Loved One Avoids Treatment

When you know someone needs help for an addiction but you find it hard to discuss it with them it can become a problem. Sometimes addicts are still deep in denial even when everyone around them can see that they are going down a dangerous path. If your loved one avoids you when you discuss their addiction with them, it could be that they refuse to recognize that they have a problem.

The important thing to understand about a person’s addiction is that it is an illness that can control how they think and behave. Their decision to avoid you has nothing to do with you but is a reflection of how their substance abuse has taken over their mind. Although it may be difficult to witness they are now wired to do everything they can to keep using drugs.

A good strategy to take is to avoid enabling this person and set limits on your relationship with them. If they ask for money, comfort or a place to stay following a binge then you should keep boundaries with them so you aren’t helping them continue their behavior. Telling someone they need treatment and then doing something to enable them is a way of sending mixed signals.

If you have tried speaking to someone one on one about their addiction they are not responsive then might be time to stage an intervention. Try to gather as many friends, family and loved ones who are concerned about the addict and organize a time and place when you can discuss the problem with them. An intervention is often the most effective way to reach someone with an addiction because they see that everyone is in agreement that they have a problem and are more likely to choose to get help.