Drug and alcohol addiction at this point is a pretty devastating issue in the United States, to say the least. It has been an ongoing one, and it has made for difficult and trying times for those involved. The critical thing about addiction is that, the longer it continues, the more chances one has of losing their life because of it, and the greater the threat there is of an overdose or an accident because of it. All in all, this is a dangerous and a risky situation, to say the least, and it has made an even worse situation in this country than there was years ago.
Perhaps the single most difficult aspect of addressing addiction and actually doing something about it lies in the simple fact that those who are addicted to drugs and alcohol more often than not do not want to get help for their addictions. This is bad news because this unwillingness to get help very well could be the death of them.
Let’s look at the data on this. According to studies done by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, crisis interventions for drug and alcohol abuse are now becoming more needed and necessary than they ever have been before. Studies have shown in recent years though that the current percentage of American drug and alcohol addicts who are in fact NOT willing to seek out drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation numbers as high as ninety percent, and that is not an exaggeration. The concept that one can just, “deal with his or her addiction by themselves” is more prevalent than it ever has been before, making the vast majority of the addicted populace feeling as though they do not need rehab, and that they don’t really have a problem to begin with, either.
The Need for Treatment
Sometimes interventions do not work. Then you have to ask yourself, “Do we force the addict to go to rehab?” The answer is yes. That is exactly what you need to do. You need to force the addict to go to rehab, by any means possible.
This is somewhat contrary to some schools of the thought on the subject because a lot of people will say that rehab does not work when one is not willing to be there. Well, that might be true in some cases, but what definitely does not work is the continuation of the person’s addiction. A forced rehabilitation program on a person has a chance of working, whereas just letting them continue their activities will end up in their death one-hundred percent of the time if they do not get help.
Some rehabilitation is better than no rehabilitation. Rehabilitation done on an unwilling person is better than no rehabilitation done on an unwilling person. One way or the other, consider this an excellent approach and a successful action when you get a loved one into rehab. Whether they want to go or not, you have to at least try, and you have to have faith in the rehab center and their ability to turn the person around.
Here’s another way to consider it. If your family member or loved ones die because of addiction, and you had already given up on trying to help them, you will never forgive yourself. If you intervene on them, force them into rehab, and they still die? At least you can say that you did everything within your power to help them.
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