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How much a family is affected by a substance use problem depends on how long they have lived with it, how advanced it is, how much shame and secrecy surround it, and the roles and responsibilities of the person with the disorder? If the problem is left untreated, family members will also develop destructive behaviors, such as denial, enabling, and co-dependency.
Because certain behaviors become routine, you may have trouble seeing how unhealthy they are, and how they contribute to the problem.
Denial occurs when family members do not recognize, or refuse to admit, that substance use is causing serious health, work, school, relationship, or financial problems. Family members are prone to denial about how serious the problem is, how it has "spread" through the family and affected family relationships, and how they themselves may contribute to the problem. As addiction in the family becomes more severe, the family's denial may also, until the truth becomes so obvious and the crises so dramatic that denial doesn't work anymore.
Enabling includes behaviors by family members that allow people with substance use problems to avoid the negative consequences of their actions. It can include many things, such as:
• Collecting money from family and friends to pay the person's bills
• Repeatedly covering up for someone at work
• Moving someone when they pass out in the living room
• Staying silent in the face of repeated inappropriate or destructive behavior
Enabling can be done by parents, siblings, co-workers, supervisors, neighbors, friends, teachers, doctors, or therapists. Although enabling begins as a way to protect the person from harm, the enabler eventually becomes part of the problem.
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An intervention is a well orchestrated meeting where family members and friends confront the individual with the alcohol and or substance abuse problem, in a loving, caring manner. An intervention is a structured, caring process of getting help for a person who is in denial or refuses to get help for alcoholism or substance abuse. An intervention is a structured, solution-focused process consisting of a small group of close friends, family members or co-workers who come together in a caring and non-judgmental manner.
Each participant in the intervention takes a turn expressing their concerns and how they see the problem person’s behavior is affecting them and this person. There needs to be a rehab facility already lined up and prepared to admit the person with the problem immediately upon completion of the intervention. Participants are given the opportunity to present their observations and help them see how their behavior is affecting both them and the people around them.
The goal of an intervention is to get the person with the problem to agree to go and complete a rehab program. The purpose of an intervention is to facilitate the prospective patient's admission into an appropriate treatment program. Prior to meeting the prospective patient, an interventionist works with the interested parties, educating them about the disease, treatment and the intervention process.
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Prescription medications can be very effective in treating individuals with the medical need for prescription drug medications; however, using these drugs without the supervision of a physician or for purposes different from their intended use can lead to serious adverse consequences, including death from overdose and physical addiction. When abused, some prescription drugs can be as addictive and dangerous as illegal street drugs. According to the office of Drug Control Policy, in 2006 abuse of prescription pain killers abuse now ranks second—only behind marijuana—as the Nation's most prevalent illegal drug problem.
There are three main categories of commonly abused prescription medications: CNS stimulants and depressants, and narcotic analgesics:
The intervention of a chronic pain patient is somewhat different than the traditional substance abuse that acquires total abstinence from chemicals. A traditional intervention with a pain patient seldom works because it’s the wrong action to take. The pain sufferer panics, and experiences trauma at the mere thought of having to deal without medication for their real pain. The fact is a significant portion of these pain patients may not be addicts, Acquired prescription drug abuse with pain issues dictates a different approach, than if dependence, abuse or other addictive behaviors began first.
The education of the family is invaluable when dealing with chronic pain with acquired prescription drug dependence. After the educational phase with family and other team members, new attitudes and approaches are understood and formulated. The intervention target changes, and the end results are much more affective.
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What is Dual Diagnosis Treatment?
The term dual diagnosis is often used interchangeably with the terms co-occurring illnesses, concurrent disorders, co-morbid disorders, co-existing disorders, co-occurring disorder and dual disorder. The term "co-occurring disorders" is becoming the most accepted term used to describe dual diagnosis.
Dual diagnosis treatment is necessary when an individual is affected by both chemical dependency (drug addiction / alcoholism) and an emotional or psychiatric illness. Both illnesses affect an individual physically, psychologically, socially, and spiritually. Each illness has symptoms that interfere with a person’s ability to function effectively and relate to themselves and others. The individual with a dual diagnosis is affected by two separate illnesses, which interact with one another. Each illness may exacerbate the other in a manner where each disorder predisposes one to relapse in the other. At times the symptoms can overlap and mask each other making diagnosis and dual diagnosis treatment quite challenging.
It is not unusual for a person trying to recover from one illness to be in denial of the other. The key is to resolve a person’s denial, so both illnesses can be treated concurrently. If both illnesses are not treated, the individual is sure to relapse. There is no single type of dual diagnosis due to the fact that there are a variety of psychiatric or mental health disorders one may have.
Intervention of a duel diagnosed patient is altered somewhat. The patient’s diagnosis needs to be considered very carefully before the family confrontation is executed. The types of referring facility plays a large part in setting up the intervention it’s self. There are a few other issues that need special considerations, including, behavioral, and the option of inclusion of a psychiatric intity.
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An intervention is the action taken by family, friends, employer and/or concerned others to actively assist someone to change unacceptable behavior. The problem areas that an intervention typically addresses are addiction to alcohol and/or other drugs, nicotine, food, the Internet, sex, etc...
The intervention of a chronic pain patient is somewhat different than the traditional substance abuser that needs total abstinence from chemicals, or even the pain/addiction patients. A traditional intervention with a pain patient seldom works because it’s the wrong action to take. The pain sufferer panics, and experiences trauma at the mere thought of having to deal without something for their real pain. The fact is a significant portion of these pain patients are not addicts..
A Chronic Pain Intervention is an opportunity for the family to intervene on the defeating process that their loved one has been mired in for years. In a sense a successful intervention leaves all that participates an empowerment over a situation that seemed hopeless at one tiFirst, one has to have a workable solution. At this juncture, there are only limited physicians, and rare programs that address these issues with any satisfactory outcomes.
1) Dealing with the many existing perspectives of the people participating in the intervention.
2) Being able to relate to the client, an appropriate, satisfactory treatment option
3) Dealing with the client’s covertness
4) Be aware that the pain and illness is not the client’s fault. Instead keep reinforcing the understanding that they have an illness. Much like the approach in an addiction intervention. This is an illness.
5) Remain nonjudgmental and non-blaming. Do not stigmatize.
6) Keep the focus on Pain treatment as the primary reason for treatment. Let the intervention for drug abuse be downplayed. Address the problems occurring from medications as being treatable by better and newer methods of treatment.
7) Keep the focus off of simply stopping the drugs, instead, accentuating the pain relief effectively.
8) Remember, the purpose of treatment is to restore the client to a functional, pleasurable existence where the pain does not dominate their lives. This, we believe is through making pain tolerable.
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