Last Updated on June 26, 2020 by Morris Green

If a loved one is battling with an addiction, it can be quite painful to watch. Day in and day out, you see them harming themselves and spiraling out of control. But you feel helpless, like there’s nothing you can do. However, there are many things you can do. Even if it seems like you’re not helping, in the long run, your help might finally inspire them to change.

1. Offer Your Support

One of the first things you should do to help someone struggling with an addiction is to let them know you’re there for them. Be supportive of his feelings without condoning his behavior. Let him know that you understand how he feels, but also be sure to tell him that you’re not okay with him abusing drugs or alcohol. In the end, he’ll appreciate your concern and he’ll begin to trust that he can come to you if he ever needs someone to talk to. As a result, he’ll be more willing to listen to you once you begin to encourage him to get help for his addiction.

2. Take Your Loved One on an Adventure

Take your addicted friend or family member on a fun adventure. This will help him take his mind off things that usually drive him to drink or do drugs. Substance use is quite common in people who experience depression and other mental disorders. Therefore, by providing emotional support and helping your loved one forget about his problems, he’ll feel better and may even refrain from using.

Look up cruises in your area, such as cruises from san diego. A cruise can be a nice getaway and help your loved one appreciate the beauty of the ocean and other forces of nature. Appreciating nature can be quite therapeutic and can play a big role in helping your friend reevaluate his life as well as focus on things that are more important.

3. Stop Enabling

If your family member, spouse or friend is battling addiction, it’s important to stop enabling them. For example, are you helping him or her buy drugs and alcohol? Are you repeatedly bailing the person out of jail, lying to others to cover up negative behavior or blaming others for his/her behavior? If you’re doing any of these things, then you’re enabling your loved one to continue to use. It’s also likely that you’re neglecting your own needs in favor of the addict’s, which can lead to major problems and may make the addiction worse.

To stop enabling your loved one, step back and look at the situation. Do you make it seem like you’re okay with him using drugs or alcohol? If so, make it known that you don’t approve of his behavior and that it would mean a lot to you if he’d stop. This will show him that just because you care for him doesn’t mean that you agree with his actions.

He might have a negative reaction at first, but in the end, he’ll begin to realize what he’s doing is wrong and may even try to change.

4. Intervene

Sometimes you may think that you shouldn’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped. However, there might come a time where your loved one needs you even if it doesn’t seem like it. He might be having thoughts of overdosing, which is pretty much suicide. Due to the gravity of the situation, it’s important to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn’t spiral out of control.

5. Encourage Your Loved One to Get Help

Once you’ve made your loved one more comfortable talking to you about his addiction problem, start encouraging him to get help. He may not realize that getting professional help can combat his addiction. But if you mention it to him, you could help open his mind.

If your loved one is battling with an addiction, don’t just stand back and do nothing. Help him or her see why it’s crucial to stop using.