Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Things You’ll Need:
Step1
Do not offer money. The one thing my parents never did during my drug addiction was offer me money. It is my belief they understood that basic of drug addiction. A strung-out drug addict is in a sorry state. But instead of handing her money to go buy the next rock (a drug term for crack or cocaine) or joint, consider taking her grocery shopping. This money will not go in the drain.
Step2
Advise him to go to groups. The next and most crucial of all steps is to advise addicts to go to 12-step meetings. It can be hard to get anyone to go to a drug treatment center. A basic Narcotics Anonymous meeting requires far less commitment. They take less than two hours and can inspire some addicts. Maybe the first few meeting won’t work out, but eventually something will begin to click within the addict. She just might see how damaged her life is.
Step3
Sending an addict to a treatment center, especially if he is willing, can help him avoid major events like death or going to jail. Where Narcotics Anonymous (NA) is less invasive, a treatment center will have clear rules on not using and can help a strung out cocaine or crack addict better than anyone.
Step4
Go to Nar-Anon or Al-Anon meetings. There are meetings for the family members to try and rebuild the wreckage of their lives caused by the ones they love. Nar-Anon is a smaller offshoot of NA, but it works in the same way the Al-Anon meetings for the family members of alcoholics do. These meetings allow the family to express their concerns and meet others with similar problems, possibly finding solutions. The thoughts of being alone in the pain will no longer be relevant.
Step5
Seek professional help ASAP. Meetings are one thing, but sometimes sharing the pain of the past is too much in front of a large or even small group. Therapists and psychiatrists can listen to the things we want no one to know about.
Step6
Do not give speeches—choose actions. By now, you have all the tools needed to combat the drug addict within the family. But how do you deal with them on a personal level? You no longer give money or give him the opportunity to steal, and you are making contacts with people who can help you. Now you must think of how you handle this person on a daily basis. Lectures, for the most part, will be drowned out by the desires of the addict to use. It is unfortunate, but often they do not care what you think, because they are lost in addiction. One strategy to use is provide actions with results. Help him get a job or find a place to live. These actions may fail, but it offers the addict a chance to change.
Step7
Give her hope. I haven’t lectured on spirituality in this article, but it sure can help. By offering an addict hope you are offering her a chance. The addicted will make the wrong decisions on a daily basis, losing control of body and mind. She might be already devoid of hope. In order to change that, we must fight with her, tell her she is not alone, that she can have a belief system and take action. Perhaps you have religious belief and go to church (or other religious place) on a weekly basis. Take the addict with you on these trips. Explain to her she is never alone in this world; she has you and her faith.
Novice 
