One sad truth is that addiction and violence often go hand in hand. When one abuses drugs and alcohol, one’s mind and body and personality will be significantly altered by such habits. This is truthfully because drug and alcohol substances both change different levels in the brain and different aspects of human nature in a pretty major way. Truthfully, when one takes drugs and alcohol, the serotonin levels change, dopamine levels change, and endorphin levels change. This is just the beginning too. Lots of other changes occur in the brain and in the central nervous system, not to mention the major changes that occur in one’s personality, one’s behavior, the way one prioritizes things, and how one acts around one’s family.
These reasons and others can all drive a drug or alcohol addict to get violent at times. Drug addicted and alcohol addicted individuals are often very short tempered, they regularly have emotional outbursts, and they’re likely to physically attack someone who they perceive as being a threat to them or to the continuation of their addictive habits. For this reason, they need to be approached and talked to and confronted with caution and reservation. Even more important it is that those who choose to intervene with such individuals take heed of cautionary advice from professional interventionists and get a good idea of how to confront someone who tends to turn to violence as a solution for their problems or for confrontations.
How to Intervene with a Violent Addict
Confronting a drug addict or an alcohol addict who tends to become violent is a very worrisome prospect. But on the other hand, if nothing is done then the individual’s life will very often end as a result of their substance abuse. People don’t just stop using drugs and alcohol on their own. They have to be made willing to go to a rehabilitation center if they are not already themselves willing to do so. Also, one cannot stand around idly waiting for them to have a life-changing experience that makes them decide of their own free will to go to rehab, because that life-changing experience very often is overdose and death. You have to intervene. Below are some tips on how to intervene with a substance abuser who is violent:
Never confront the person alone. It is best to follow the standard intervention model when dealing with a violent substance abuser. Hire a professional interventionist, and assemble a team of family members and loved ones and all of you together confront the addict at the same time. He or she is less likely to become violent if there are more people there trying to help him or her.
Do not get at all confrontational with the addict during the intervention. Try using the Love First approach with him or her or a different type of intervention model that focusses on positive encouragement, non confrontational approaches, and love and compassion rather than the blame game, yelling, accusations, or attempting to force accountability.
Don’t push it. A lot of people think that they will only get one chance to intervene with a drug abuser or alcohol abuser. This is not the case. If the addict blows up and tries to become violent even in the midst of several people who want to help him or her and simply back off. It’s no sense endangering your safety or the safety of other people there. If the addict becomes violent with you or somebody else then simply back off, end the intervention, and try again at a later time. It’s not worth the risk. If you yourself get hurt or somebody else gets hurt then how can the addict be helped? Your safety and the safety of everyone else there is more important than getting the addict to admit to needing help that same day.
A lot of people simply are not willing to confront a substance abuser who is violent. However, this has to be done or else the individual’s life is basically forfeit. Follow the steps and recommendations and the odds are that you will have success and you will be able to get him or her into a rehabilitation center or program.
Leave a Reply