You always want the best for your friends, colleagues and loved ones. Provided they are of sound mind, you will generally expect them to act within their own best interests. When drugs come into play, however, users often lose their self-control and sense of judgment. In worst-case scenarios, the intervention of others could mean the difference between life and death.

If someone in your family or social circle is falling prey to an addiction, the rest of you might decide to hold an intervention. In order for an intervention to be successful, the following factors will need to be in place:

• Proper timing. To get the message through to your loved one, the intervention will need to be scheduled for a time of day when he or she is usually clean and sober.
• Comfortable surroundings. Interventions can be stressful enough without the added awkwardness of foreign surroundings, so pick a location where the subject would feel comfortable.
• Familiar faces. An intervention is an act of love, so the only people present should be the close friends and family of the person in question.
• Understanding participants. Though the objective is not to appease the addict, the intervening parties must understand the addict’s issues in advance of carrying out the plan.

Reasons Why Addicts Refuse Treatment

The amount of people in need of treatment far exceeds the number who actually receive help for drug addiction. According to a 2010 study by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the following excuses featured among the reasons given for not receiving treatment:

• 9 percent believed they could conquer their addictions without treatment
• 8.4 percent were daunted by the prospect of commuting to and from their nearest treatment centers
• 7.9 percent were fearful of work-related consequences if they were to undergo treatment
• 7.1 percent were concerned about what their neighbors might think
• 6.5 percent simply didn’t feel the need for treatment

Looking down that list of reasons, one could surmise that the first two are dubious at best and that the second two are self-conscious excuses. Of all the reasons given, however, the last rings as the clearest brush of denial.

When Users Are in Denial

Some users know when they need treatment and some users remain oblivious. Users in denial typically fall into two categories: those who flat out lie when confronted about their problems and those who lie to themselves so much that delusions have taken hold. Both situations are grounds for an intervention, but you must understand where the user in your life is coming from before you proceed with your plans.

Planning for a Drug Intervention

According to figures compiled by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2010 marked an eight-year-high in drug usage throughout the United States. With 22.6 million users accounted for in those figures, some of those people could very well be within your social circle. If this is the case, you may decide to hold an intervention for the person in question. Here at Axis, we help addicts overcome a full range of drug-related issues. Call us to learn more about intervention strategies and treatment methods for your loved one in need.