How to Help Someone Else Through Opiate Withdrawals

It is difficult to recover from opiate addiction. You cannot force a person to stop being a drug addict. Only an addict who chooses to break free from addiction can be helped. The withdrawal period is perhaps the most difficult stage of recovery. During withdrawal, the addict will be extremely tempted to use drugs. After the first few days of not using drugs, withdrawals will be less, but recovery is far from over. The urges to use opiates will still be there, though they will decrease over time. The first six months of opiate addiction recovery constitutes the most trying time for the recovering addict.

Difficulty: Challenging

Instructions

1. Educate yourself about opiate addiction. Read opiate-addiction books and talk to drug counselors to gain knowledge about opiate addiction and working with addicts.

2. Keep all drugs and alcohol away from the addict. Hide prescription medications and alcohol. Addicts who do not have access to their drug of choice will often resort to abusing other drugs or alcohol as a replacement.

3. Encourage the addict to attend counseling or enroll in a drug-addiction treatment facility.

4. Refrain from giving the addict money. Addicts often give convincing reasons for why they need money, when in reality they intend to use the money to buy drugs. It is OK to give the addict food, clothing, health care and housing--as long as you do not give the addict actual money.

5. Watch the addict and hold her accountable for her behavior. If the addict disappears for long periods of time or appears to be under the influence of a controlled substance, confront her. Ignoring the problem will not help the addict. The addict needs to know that you will not tolerate or ignore drug or alcohol use.

6. Give the addict emotional support. Getting off drugs is a very difficult thing to do. Having a person to talk to is an important piece of recovery. Your support will especially be needed when the addict is feeling weak and having trouble not using drugs.

Tips & Warnings

• You may feel like you are being mean when helping an addict through withdrawals and recovery. Remind yourself that you are helping the addict.

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