Understanding and helping those who face addictions
Hello everyone!
Ive been thinking lately about the amount of members that talked to me about themselves or their friends who face addictions. Also, there are listeners who dont fully understand the issue of facing an addiction or dont know how to help a member in that situation. Therefore, I thought it would be a nice idea to write a post about a few facts and tips on how to help somebody who faces an addiction, as it could be useful to both members and listeners.
Firstly, before thinking about the tips we could give somebody in this domain, we have to understand what addiction is:
Addiction is a chronic disease that affects the reward structure of the brain. It is caused by neurochemical reactions that are prompted by the introduction of certain substances and behaviors. Addiction impairs a persons judgment, physiological independence and emotional well-being.
Secondly, we have to look at what causes addiction in order to understand the problem. I collected information from my experiences with the members who dealt with addiction and some quality articles, therefore we have: high stress levels, having a parent with a history of addiction, severe trauma or injury, exposure to substance abuse at a young age, mental health conditions, especially mood disorders such as chronic anxiety and depression, psychological trauma (including loss of a loved one or chronic loneliness).
There are 11 tips for both members and listeners who want to help people that are dealing with an addiction:
💗People need to make their own decisions – support, but do not command, bully or beg
💗Never directly disagree with the person, but do not pretend that you agree with them either (if you dont)
💗Ask questions, avoid statements
💗Try to highlight inconsistencies in statements made, in a way that does not engender a feeling of resistance in the person you are trying to help
💗Try to not give up too easily and try to represent an emotional support for those who face an addiction
💗Demonstrate empathy and concern – try to avoid outright sympathy or criticism
💗Dont rush it – take your time and wait for a spontaneous response
💗You need to feel safe and sometimes you may need to make hard decisions (such as referring or ending the chat) to protect yourself
💗Accept that the persons using is driven by subconscious influences
💗Allow the natural consequences of the using behaviour to occur – neither help nor hinder
💗Try to avoid taking on the role of the professional helper. You always can refer them to a professional.
Hopefully this post will be useful for you. Thanks for taking the time to read it. 💗
@LlamaGlama @AiluraBlaze @JaydenIsHere @beYOUtywithin @dancingStrawberry34 @BugInARug @ASilentObserver @LunaHecate @SunFern @Eccho @Jenna @SmileyPower @JovialOne
@LlamaGlama GREAT post! Thank you!
Very insightful and helpful, thank you for sharing!
@LlamaGlama - This is excellent advice and exactly what is taught for MI in Addictions Counseling, minus working towards an agreement to do something/meet a goal. Perhaps examining the member's true motivation in life gives us a little room, as listeners, to ask open-ended questions on a scale or to ask how the member feels the substance abuse has changed what's most important to them.
Roll with resistance, or I guess ambivalence now??? Several of the chats I've taken have moved from an initial topic into substance usage concerns as a facet, due to trauma. I'm stll learning how not to push too hard or give too much input, and it's not always easy. And then it's a whole new ball of wax in the forums. lol I joined this site as a tool to sharpen my skills for future career, but it's so far beyond that now. These are humans with a primary, progressive brain disorder, thus making it a medical illness. And as the counselors who sat on panels I attended have stated, on multiple occasions - we don't shoot our wounded.
Glama - My thinking/writing hat is on, sorry to hijack your thread - it just inspires me to truly perfect my style. Do you have thoughts on listerners handing off a member immediately to another, if the member is weighing whether or not they may break sobriety during the chat? Even if they can't surf the urge and do drink or use, we might be able to help them manage abstinence violation effect, so they get back on their program with less guilt... Just wondering, as there are CADCs on the committe, but I'm still in training.
Or do we/should we have the Samsha hotline handy, so they can speak to someone who is allowed to assist in a different manner?
Thank you again for the guide!
@ChangeofPerspective Hello :) Thanks for your honest review. Regarding your question, I think that a listener should place a boundary between his limits and professional help.
Sometimes, members can be triggered by the fact we refer them way too quickly to a special hotline and they think we don't even listen to them, so this is why it is essential to show emphaty and understandment to the member in cause.
However, we never should push ourselves to play the "professionist" role as it could negatively influence the both of us (the listener and the member). Therefore, once again, we have to be concerned about our limits and. in the same time, show members that we care about them and represent an emotional support to them.
@LlamaGlama A/c changed your username. My post just went into the ether...and it was important. Gotta find it. Darn.
@ChangeofPerspective I've accidentaly replied from my member account and I had to delete that post :( My apologies
@LlamaGlama Bummer...so reply died along the way. Lol. Its cool.
@ChangeofPerspective hey guys, just wanted to ask for more info on what the samsa hotline is and what they offer to addicts in their chats? Are they professional level advisors or are they more listeners like 7 cups? And I'm guessing it's free too as it's a hotline call? Just curious to know more to be able to advise better for users that ask about it before they are passed over to the samsa team. Thanks in advance for any info shared. 🙏🏼😊 Cat x
@ChangeofPerspective samsha** excuse the typo 🙈
@LlamaGlama
Thank you soo much
@LlamaGlama
Thank you so much for your hardwork ❤💙
Thx
Thanks for the tips Llama. It happened today. I was going to visit a friend in rehab (gambling and smoking marijuana). She was asking me for money, n randomly calling me every few mins, n sounding erratic n dopey n lying n confused. She was high. I cancelled visiting her, BC it didn't feel safe or right n her drug dealer was visiting her too
Great thank you
I have been avoiding this app for a while. And that's not going great. But I am glad to see this first. Thank you.
I truly agree. Many are stuck in thinking that substance abuse is a low economical trend, and only the poor, and juvenile have this problem, not realizing that it has no color lines, it is an re-occurring illness, and chronic disease that requires extreme treatment as any disease. You need to understand the mental consumption it has over a person, and all the ingredients that drive it. Llama stated, that there are many things that initiate drug addiction, and what feeds it; childhood family structure, genetics, trauma, lost of an loved one, medical complications, peer-pressure, and mental instabilities, are some of components that feed this disease. I am a direct witness to a family member, who consumed throughout my adolescent moments the constant turbulence of addiction, and all the ramifications encountered, which was physical abuse, incarceration, dysfunctional household, co-dependence, and all the dysfunctional family roles that destroys a healthy family orientation. I definitely, stressed educating yourselves on the disease, so that you can really understand the addict, and the struggles they endure. Peace ✌🏾
