Once Off Meth You Long to Be With Family Again

Editor Melissa Carmona

As the content manager at Advanced Recovery Systems, Melissa Carmona puts years of writing and editing... read more

Medically Reviewed By Jenni Jacobsen, LSW

Jenni Jacobsen is a licensed social worker through the Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Spousal relationship and Family unit... read more

Updated on 09/15/21

Commodity at a Glance:

Meth is a powerfully addictive drug, creating a range of negative physical and mental side effects.
It tin be difficult to watch a loved one suffer through meth habit. Their beliefs may change, and their health may deteriorate, merely these are symptoms of a legitimate medical status.
Past budgeted the meth addict with intendance and empathy and working with professionals, you lot tin help your loved 1 see the need for treatment so they tin begin their journey toward recovery from meth habit.

How Is Meth Habit Different?

Methamphetamine, or "meth," is a highly addictive stimulant drug that people typically use by smoking, snorting or injecting. Some people may also take this drug orally in the form of a pill. A specific form that looks similar glass fragments or white rocks with a blue tint is called crystal meth.

Meth addiction is so powerful because this drug quickly increases levels of dopamine, a chemical in the encephalon that produces feelings of pleasance. This makes a person want to use meth again and again to accomplish the same blitz, which eventually leads to addiction. People addicted to meth are likely to experience intense withdrawal symptoms, such as depression, drug cravings and farthermost fatigue if they go without the drug.

For family unit, friends, and loved ones of a meth aficionado, watching a person get a victim of this drug can be frightening. Meth abuse comes with serious side effects, including tooth disuse, astringent weight loss, skin sores, feet, confusion and memory loss, paranoid behavior, hallucinations, aggression, coordination problems and brain damage.

Preparing to Confront a Meth Addict

If you take witnessed the above signs and symptoms in a loved one fond to meth, you are probably wondering what y'all can do to assist.

Research & Understand Crystal Meth

If y'all're a family fellow member of someone with whatever addiction, including crystal meth, the get-go thing to do is enquiry addiction and the drug itself. Addiction is a chronic wellness problem, which leads someone to compulsively seek drugs, fifty-fifty when they experience negative consequences. Loved ones are oftentimes not to arraign for the habit, and the behavior of an addicted person stems from a legitimate medical status.

It is also helpful to research what to expect from drug addiction treatment so that you can share this information with your loved one and hopefully ease some of their fears surrounding getting assistance.

RELATED: Methamphetamine (Meth) Habit & Abuse

Work With Professionals

With whatsoever addiction, information technology tin be incredibly valuable for family members to speak with professionals, whether it's a treatment facility, individual therapist or interventionist. This tin be especially true when a loved i is suffering from the devastating furnishings of meth habit.

An addiction professional person can help train you lot and the residuum of your family unit on how to approach the addicted loved one and how to appropriately address the problem. A professional can also teach yous ways to finer motivate the person to seek treatment, often through a professionally led intervention. Professionals can besides aid loved ones avoid behavior that enables the addiction.

Self-Intendance

Regardless of how your loved one or friend feels most treatment, you need to ensure you're taking intendance of yourself as well. It tin can exist valuable to join a back up group for families of addicts. Back up groups offer social support where y'all can share your experiences to assist your own mental health. You lot tin can also acquire from other people'southward experiences how to approach helping an addicted person.

Go on in mind that information technology is impossible to care for others if you do not starting time care for yourself. Take fourth dimension to practice things y'all relish, such equally going for a walk, meeting a friend for lunch or taking a hot bath. These stress-relieving activities tin can help you cope with your loved one's addiction in a healthier fashion.

Stop Enabling Behaviors

Are you enabling an aficionado? Codependency and addiction are usually closely related every bit the enabler will cover up or support their partner's habit to try to protect them. Enabling can take countless forms, such every bit:

Paying the rent of someone who spent all his or her coin on drugs
Lying about why someone is non at work or school
Apologizing to people on behalf of an addict
Bailing an addict out of jail repeatedly when addiction lands him or her in trouble
Giving an unrepentant addict shelter for fear he or she will finish upward on the street

Acquire more almost codependency and substance corruption.

Confronting a Meth Addict

Once you've taken the appropriate steps to educate and care for yourself, now information technology's time to face up your loved one most their meth problem.

How To Talk to an Aficionado

When confronting a loved ane most their addiction and your desire for them to seek treatment, information technology is important to remain empathetic and understanding. Continue in mind that resistance to modify is normal, and your loved ane may be in denial. Give them an opportunity to express their fears regarding getting treatment instead of trying to shut them down from talking.

It is also of import to avoid blaming the fond person or making them feel ashamed, equally they are unlikely to listen to you if they experience attacked. Arroyo the issue from a identify of care and business concern. You may consider expressing your love for the addicted person and reminding them of the ways that drug use has negatively affected your life and their own.

When talking to your loved one about getting aid for meth addiction, you may consider using principles from motivational interviewing, a blazon of counseling technique that is commonly used to encourage people with addictions to become assist. This not-confrontational mode can close down some of the defenses that people have and help them realize the necessity of handling.

A professional can employ motivational interviewing techniques when working with an fond family unit member, but many of the principles of this method utilize to having a conversation with a loved one. For example, motivational interviewing relies upon strategies like empathy, cogitating listening, avoidance of arguing, and helping a person see the discrepancies betwixt their drug apply and life goals.

Encounter: Guide to Planning an Intervention →

How Not To Help Someone Addicted to Meth

Merely equally in that location are strategies that yous can employ to have a more effective conversation with someone addicted to meth, in that location are certain things y'all should not do if you want to help your loved one.

Don't Confront An Addict When They're High

If yous're trying to aid a person addicted to meth, you shouldn't attempt to approach them when they're on the drug or experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms. Y'all probably won't brand much progress if they are under the influence or suffering from uncomfortable withdrawal side effects. Recall that meth is a stimulant drug, pregnant it can atomic number 82 to paranoid behavior or hallucinations. You lot cannot await a discussion regarding treatment to be constructive if someone is experiencing these symptoms. Withdrawal tin can also lead to symptoms of anxiety, depression and even psychosis, so a person who is withdrawing is unlikely to be receptive to conversation.

If possible, wait until your loved i appears to be sober and in a neutral or happy mood before approaching the topic of getting assist for meth addiction. If they react with fierce or ambitious behavior, this is a side effect of meth corruption and non an indication that this is an inherently dangerous person.

Don't Force Recovery

Principles from motivational interviewing besides teach that it is not helpful to forcefulness recovery. Trying to force someone to admit they need help tin make them more than resistant to change. Instead of forcing recovery, offer the person options, and explore their concerns regarding getting help. If y'all remain open to hearing their viewpoint, they are more likely to feel understood, which can help them come to their ain realization that recovery is needed.

Observe the Care That's Right for Your Loved One

The Recovery Village provides care to those struggling with methamphetamine abuse. Reach out to us today to learn how we can help your loved one recover from meth habit and co-occurring mental wellness conditions like depression or anxiety.

Sources
National Establish on Drug Abuse. "What is drug addiction?" July 2018. Accessed April 26, 2021.

National Institute on Drug Corruption. "What is methamphetamine?" May 2019. Accessed April 26, 2021.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. "Chapter 3— Motivational Interviewing every bit a Counseling Way." 1999. Accessed Apr 26, 2021.
Medical Disclaimer
The Recovery Hamlet aims to better the quality of life for people struggling with a substance use or mental wellness disorder with fact-based content about the nature of behavioral wellness conditions, treatment options and their related outcomes. Nosotros publish material that is researched, cited, edited and reviewed by licensed medical professionals. The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical communication, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your md or other qualified healthcare provider.

View our editorial policy or view our research.

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