Drug Abuse Intervention
Why Heroin Interventions Are Important
Almost every heroin intervention we perform involves young people under the age of 30, with most in their early to middle 20s. Heroin addiction is extremely dangerous, and families should always take action to help their loved one as soon as possible. The reason for this: Almost all heroin addicts either wind up in prison or dead. The fortunate ones eventually achieve sobriety, most likely through some form of addiction intervention and treatment.
When we say “some form of heroin intervention,” we are referring to the fact almost all heroin addicts require assistance in order to stop. Due to the physical withdrawal or sickness associated with discontinued use of heroin, it is nearly impossible for the addict to stop using. Heroin intervention is almost always a necessity because, unfortunately, the addiction is unlike all others in that it usually kills the user.
Every heroin intervention we perform, or discuss with a family over the phone, ends with us having to paint a harsh reality to mothers and fathers about the severity of heroin addiction and its consequences. Heroin is the one drug that entails the risk of overdose with every single use. Crack and crystal meth users, and even alcoholics, have to work up to the point of having too much. Not so with heroin. The risk of instant death occurs every time it is used.
We cannot begin to describe the distraught mothers who call us following the loss of their son or daughter to heroin addiction, having failed to do an intervention. Please do not wait for the inevitable. For a heroin user, reaching bottom is death.
“The most formidable challenge we professionals face is families not accepting our suggested solutions. Rather, they only hear us challenging theirs. Interventions are as much about families letting go of old ideas as they are about being open to new ones. Before a family can do something about the problem, they must stop allowing the problem to persist. These same thoughts and principles apply to your loved one in need of help.”
Mike Loverde, MHS, CIP
The Timing of a Heroin Intervention Is Crucial
One of the most difficult things to hear as a heroin intervention counselor occurs when a family says they were told that their heroin-addicted loved one has to reach bottom before an intervention can begin.
Families ask us: “How do we know how bad it is?” If your loved one is on heroin, it’s bad. No one can proclaim unequivocally that social heroin users do not exist. However, our interventionist staff has never met or heard of a social heroin addict. The point is, when we receive a call for heroin intervention, we know that the family and the addict are on borrowed time.
The importance of heroin intervention is this: If you do not step in and confront the situation with a professional interventionist, the outcome for the heroin user can end up being fatal. Treating heroin addicts with enabling gestures, such as allowing them to live in your house rent free and not calling the police when they steal from you to pawn your possessions, sends the wrong message.
It’s a Family Process
Our heroin intervention process helps the family sort out the confusion the day prior to the actual intervention with heroin user. Then, while working directly with our interventionist, the family is presented with an intervention plan that outlines the best course of action for a successful outcome.
When mothers and fathers call for a consultation and assessment for heroin intervention, the family is almost always devastated. It is hard for a mother to look at baby pictures with a son or daughter now on heroin. Families start questioning themselves as to whether the addiction is somehow their fault, which makes confronting the situation far more difficult than it should be.
Unless the family steps up to engage in the heroin intervention process, their loved one will most likely continue to drain the family emotionally – and probably financially. Waiting for heroin addiction to correct itself is never a good idea.
Seek Heroin Addiction Help for Your Loved One Soon
How many more times does your loved one have to walk into the house with a pale face and pinpointed pupils? How many more times can you discover your loved one has stolen one of your possessions and pawned it to buy heroin? How many more times will you believe that simple detox is going to work for them?
Family First’s heroin intervention program is designed to help families get their lives back, as well as getting their loved one back on track. Heroin addicts do a tremendous job at selling families the hope that one day things will get better. However, at the same time, they are creating an environment of complacency.
Heroin addicts tell themselves every day that tomorrow they are going to stop, but tomorrow never comes. Our heroin intervention program shows you that heroin addicts are actually sincere when they make attempts to stop. Nonetheless, because of the power of the drug, it is almost impossible to do so without help and long-term treatment.
Heroin addicts think the problem is just the dope, and they think if they can just “kick it” or do detox, they will be fine. As the family member of a heroin addict, you will find out, if you have not discovered already, that this is not true. Family members should give themselves a break and call a heroin intervention before it is too late.