Addiction clouds reasoning, which is why so many addicts push the limits of their health, associations, and careers to a breaking point. Drugs and alcohol are cunning, and the extent to which they trick the mind can be baffling, but not all addicts are in denial, many of them do want to recover. Yet, they fail to do so and come up with excuses, false hopes, and illusions that justify their behaviors – addiction impedes their capacity to be honest.
It’s no surprise that 12-step programs define the acceptance of a problem as the first and most important step toward recovery. The mixture of stubbornness and lack of clarity can make it difficult to convince a loved one to go to rehab. Convincing someone to go to rehab is not as straightforward as one may think, there could be numerous cognitive, behavioral, and physical challenges that may restrain one of our loved ones from seeking the help they need.
Our best efforts to help those we love can often go without success.
Then, how do you convince someone to go to rehab?
Education
If certain foods wouldn’t affect our health, we’d probably eat as much of them as we please. Most of us abstain from things we know can hurt us or lower our life expectancy, because we know about the risks they carry. The same goes for addicts, some things might not be as obvious to one person as they are to another which is why educating addicts is the first step towards helping them get well.
Some of the topics that can help them get the education they need to motivate them to go into rehab may include:
- How drugs and alcohol affect their body and mind
- What kind of treatments are available for them
- Demystifying any misconceptions they may have about recovery or addiction
- Looking into areas of their life that have been affected or into finances and see how that can be improved with sobriety
- How substance abuse could lead to irreparable damage or death
If you are unsure about where to get the best information to educate yourself first, try browsing our content library which covers many useful topics.
Look for Professional Help
It’s quite possible that our best efforts and intentions might not be enough to convince our loved ones to seek help. After all, stubbornness is an addict’s close companion. It’s also possible that our loved ones are still in fear of misconceptions despite our best efforts to demystify them. Whichever the problem may be, it might be time to take our efforts to the next level and find a professional who can help.
Professionals will not only be able to guide you through the next steps of the process, but they can also help you prepare and execute an intervention.
A professional intervention is a strategy in which those closest to the addict get together with a recovery expert to express their love and concern for the addict. The big emotional pull that this situation brings is usually enough to trigger an emotional response in the addict that is strong enough to bring him or her into rehab.
How to Convince Someone to Go to Alcohol Rehab?
Having a different problem can, at times, bring about the illusion that an addict’s problem is not as harmful as another.
For example, an alcoholic might convince himself that rehab is unnecessary for someone with alcoholism, that it’s a treatment better suited for those with drug dependency. Perhaps, the alcoholic believes that he can find his own way to sobriety and that his problem is not of much concern. It may take that same alcoholic many years and failed attempts at sobriety before they hit rock bottom and realize that their problem is no different than those with other addictions.
It’s then extra-important in such cases to reinforce to the alcoholic that alcoholism is no different than other addictions. If left unattended, it can develop dependency in the same way that many other substances do. Furthermore, it’s important to reinforce the fact that Delirium Tremens, a disease caused by alcohol dependency, can lead to death.
How to Get Professional Help
How do you convince someone to go to rehab if they don’t want to get help? If your loved one is still not convinced to go to rehab after trying the suggestions in this article, then it’s time to seek professional help.
Hillcrest Recovery is a detox and rehab center in Los Angeles that not only helps people find sobriety but also helps people transform into the very best version of themselves. They combine their medical and recovery expertise to create a holistic approach for treatment..
Contact Hillcrest Recovery to learn more about what you can do to help your loved ones receive the treatment they need.