All interventions are delicate propositions that require a lot of planning, considerations, and study of the particular needs of those involved and the situation as a whole.
However, alcohol addiction does present a few particular considerations and challenges, which anyone who’s going to be involved in one should be made aware of, to be able to overcome them effectively.
Particulars of interventions in the case of Alcoholism:
The first thing you need to keep in mind when staging an intervention for alcoholics is that most people addicted to alcohol see their situation as distinct from that of a person addicted to other types of substances. In many cases, they don’t accept they have a dependency, but even worse than that, they refuse to see alcohol as a drug.
Another thing you’ll most likely notice during the process is that most of it will revolve around overcoming the subject’s established preconceptions and rationalizations. Now, this could be said about most interventions but, many alcoholics like to employ things like material success or economic stability as “evidence” they don’t have a problem. It is not uncommon for an alcoholic to say things like “I’m not an addict, I have a stable job” or “If I’m an addict, how come I have X thousand dollars on my bank account.” You need to be aware and prepared for such arguments even before the meeting happens.
Also Read: Drug and Alcohol Intervention
Lastly, and probably most important, you need to recognize society stance on alcohol.
Since alcohol is legal, readily available, and socially accepted, most alcoholics will try to deride the notion of alcohol dependency. Not even willing to discuss it as a real drug capable of forming a biological addiction and having severe health and societal consequences.
These things make dealing with alcohol addiction in an intervention setting an even more complex situation that it regularly is with patients of other substance dependencies. It also is one of the reasons why having a professional interventionist is so vital in the process.
Having someone trained and equipped to deal with the rationalizations society enable alcoholics to have – as opposed to other dependencies – makes the experience of dealing with a well articulate alcoholic much more likely to end up in them realizing the consequences of their situation and agreeing to seek help.
When is time to do an Intervention for Alcoholics?
Like it happens with any other drug, alcoholics deal with much more than just their substance dependency. Other underlying psychological issues and situations propitiate and foster the initial addiction and continue to do so over time. Life circumstances that cause them to use alcohol as a response.
Even if you were to magically stop an alcoholic from drinking, without tackling the subjacent causes won’t fix the problem in a long-term situation.
When you notice a family member, friend, or co-worker going through stressful life situations and turning to drink as a way to deal with it, or when you see someone routinely ingesting alcohol in a regular basis, you are most likely in the presence of an alcoholic.
Know that is never too early to try and help them.
An intervention is one of the best tools that can be used to aid someone face their situation and the consequences they have in those around them, which is a necessary step to have someone decide to seek treatment and recover.
Understanding the particular challenges this substance presents is essential to have a successful intervention for alcoholics. Overcoming the way most of society sees alcohol can be tough, so it is necessary to be prepared to deal with these justifications they use to further fuel their dependency.