With that said, there are certain approaches you can take to help an addict in denial. For example, if your loved one refuses rehab, you can ask them to leave your home or stop paying their bills. Below are some of the ways you can help an addict in denial:. You may discover that your loved one has fears about drug rehab. Learning about addiction and the available treatment options can help you have a more open conversation with your loved one.
This can be a big turnoff for those who have jobs, families, and households to care for. In this case, an outpatient treatment program may be a better option. Sadly, that pattern of behavior can cause strained relationships, financial difficulty, legal trouble, and a number of health issues.
Denial hinders the recovery process. Instead of acknowledging the difficulty of your situation, denial allows you to minimize the severity of the problem. You may have to deal with some feelings of guilt and shame, but personal courage and supportive friends and family can help you acknowledge the truth and get help.
Here are some practical tips to help you get started. We are here to listen compassionately. Our free, confidential telephone consultation will help you find the best treatment program for you.
We can also guide you in approaching a loved one who needs treatment. Skip to content Admissions Search for:. The Universality of Denial Denial is universal. Begin Your Recovery Journey Today Email Us. The Possibility of Intervention and the Removal of Shame There is a common myth in the recovery community that addicts have to hit rock bottom before they seek treatment.
What to Say to an Addict in Denial If breaking through pathological denial is not the primary project of intervention, what is? According to SAMHSA: From this perspective, constructive or therapeutic confrontation is useful in assisting [addicts] to identify and reconnect with their personal goals, to recognize discrepancies between current behavior and desired ideals, and to resolve ambivalence about making positive changes.
Be Specific : Talk about specific behaviors, situations, and incidents that demonstrate the impact of their addiction in order to help them see how their substance use is negatively affecting them and the people they love. This does not mean making a laundry list of complaints but rather is an opportunity to show how their drug use is keeping them from their true desires. Avoid Shame or Blame : Addiction is a chronic brain disease, not a character flaw, and it cannot be cured by shaming or blaming your loved one.
Ask What They Want : No one dreams of being an addict, but in the midst of addiction it can be difficult to remember the dreams you once had. By asking your loved one what they want out of life, you can help them reconnect to their goals and explore how continued substance use interferes with those goals. This can incentivize recovery and provide newfound motivation for change. Talk About Their Fears : Admitting addiction can be scary, but talking through those fears with your loved one can give them the opportunity to examine them with greater clarity, often helping them identify their irrationality or find strategies for overcoming them.
Offer Support : Tell your family member that you love them and are there for them. Ask them what they need in order to help them overcome addiction. We're Here to Help. This level of denial will lock a person into compliance blocking any possibility for ongoing sobriety. The process of internalizing a new truth is more fully explained in the chapter of the three-headed dragon, head number three. One of the major goals in the treatment of chemical dependency is in help you through compliance intellectually agreeing that the problem exists to acceptance coming to believe it in the heart.
This dynamic is a process not an event. Even in the most ideal conditions it will sometimes take months before acceptance is fully rooted in the innermost self. This is why it is absolutely essential for attendance in at least 90 support meetings in the first 90 days after treatment is completed. This will add substantial insurance for the proper development of the precious new convictions cultivated in treatment.
Denial, in relationship to treatment of chemical dependency, comes in three stages. Each stage has an intellectual and spiritual dimension. Stage one denial is when a person truly does not believe that they have the disease of chemical addiction. They may accept being addicted to a particular drug s , and still deny having the illness. They also could deny having a problem with drugs in spite of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Another considers themselves to be a drug abuser but not chemically dependent. There are dozens of different ways to express this stage of denial all leading to the same place. The person does not accept the hid that they have an illness, which requires nothing short of total abstinence from all mind altering drugs, including alcohol, for its solution. Overcoming the wrong understanding of chemical dependency is accomplished through proper education.
This will only produce intellectual acceptance at best, more commonly known as compliance. Internal acceptance of chemical dependency is a completely different issue. It requires a basic conversion in the belief system, which is in the innermost self spirit.
Internal acceptance is a process, not an event. One cannot come to believe something new in the innermost self by simply willing it to happen. That would be like planting a seed in the ground on Monday and expecting to have an apple tree on Friday. Once the seed has been planted, it needs time to root.
It also needs proper nourishment for growth and maturity. This is the same way someone comes to accept being chemically dependent. The seed is planted in the innermost self of the person who admits that they have the problem by their own words. Once planted it is nourished by the continuation of the same process, admitting, Step One of the AA program.
We admitted. Stage two denial is when a person denies the need for ongoing sobriety support after treatment is completed. It represents denial of being powerless.
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