There is not necessarily any rhyme or reason to it: some children become addicted to drugs and alcohol. While there are genetic and social factors that can increase or decrease the likelihood, the fact remains that both good and bad parents can wind up with an addicted son or daughter. Now, your child will most likely not simply come out and tell you that they are abusing drugs or alcohol, so here are a few signs that should warrant your attention:

• As stated above, genetics do play a factor, so be alert if your family has a history of abuse.
• Have you seen evidence of their abuse, i.e. empty liquor bottles, marijuana joints, or other drug paraphernalia? Children generally try very hard to hide these things, and if they are found easily, it could be a sign that they are losing control.
• Has your child been showing a drastic change in behavior? This could be a loss of interest in family activities, loss of appetite, change in friends, depression, irritability or defensiveness, or many other signs.
• Is your child having money problems but won’t talk about them?
• Has your child received a DUI, or has he or she been involved in shoplifting or theft?
• Do you notice any burn marks on their fingers or lips, needle tracks, or sores on their face and nose?

If you do notice some of the above things and suspect that there is a problem, be careful in your reaction. Harsh punishment or lectures to your child may simply drive them further to abuse. So what can you do about it?

• Resist yelling. Try to create a healthy, positive atmosphere in your house.
• You can’t control your child; you can, however, control yourself. Focus on that and your dealing with it, rather than forcing your child to change.
• Sit down and discuss the boundaries of the home with the child. Explain reasons for them and consequences for their actions if disobeyed.
• Get your son or daughter enrolled in a rehabilitation program and be patient. This does not happen overnight. You may not be the factor that produces change, but rather your child’s experiences with other recovering addicts. It will take time.
• Keep a hopeful, positive attitude, and have a sense of humor. Overstressing over the situation only leads to a hostile environment, which will not produce the change.
• Get help yourself: for co-dependents. You’re not alone, so it’s important to help yourself recover as well as your child. You may need family addiction treatment.

It can be frustrating. You may be ashamed, or resent your child for acting the way they have been. The important thing to understand is that there is hope, and things can turn around – it will just take some positive action and a little patience.

Alcoholism treatment is needed for many people in the country and around the world. Not surprisingly, there are many untreated people who ignore the warning signs and continue to drink. If you or someone you know is looking for methods to treating alcoholism, you have a lot to choose from. There are many varied ways to approach alcoholism treatment. Many doctors feel that the best method would be a rehabilitation program – this would be a type of inpatient approach.

Regardless of what treatment you decide to take, it is important to look at the basic “building blocks” of the treatment. Generally speaking, there are three main components to an effective method of treating alcoholism:

First, the individual abusing alcohol must be advised to stop drinking entirely. There is no changing this around – you cannot adjust your drinking, or slow your drinking, or anything even remotely close to it. The definition of an alcoholic includes someone who cannot control their alcohol intake, so if your treatment involves controlling the alcohol consumption, leave and seek better advice. Removal of alcohol is the first and foremost principle behind treating alcoholism.

Second, there must be a form of detoxification involved. Alcohol abuse wreaks havoc on both the mind and the body. Physically, there may be diseases that have been caused by alcohol abuse affecting the body. It is crucial that these diseases are treated before they do further damage. Treating alcoholism is not as simple as flipping a switch to “OFF”. The abuser must be treated medically for the damage that excessive alcohol intake has caused.

Third, and finally, there must be a long-term solution and treatment involved. Alcohol abuse damages the mind and the emotions as well as the body. It is imperative that the mind is treated as well. An alcohol abuser must be taught and shown how to feel fulfilled in life apart from alcohol. Normal life may not feel satisfying immediately upon release from a treatment center. There needs to be follow up and support offered to the recovering alcoholic to prevent relapses back into alcoholism.

Treating alcoholism is a long and very involved process, but if done correctly and including these components, treatment can be incredibly effective and successful. Keep these in mind the next time you or someone you love is considering treatment for themselves or someone else. Following these guidelines can ensure a strong approach to treatment.

What is family addiction treatment? The treatment involves using a family’s strengths and resources to find ways for the person to divert his dependency on drugs and alcohol. The impact is then put on the family to help bring the person through it. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that it is an effective mode of treatment for substance abusers.

Family addiction treatment has a two-fold effect. First, the intentional effect is that it can be a way to bring a person out of the depths of addiction through the love and care of a supporting family. The second, maybe not so obvious, effect is that the family as a whole is educated and involved in the substance abuse treatment. This fosters knowledge and interaction among the family that can prevent addiction from slipping through from generation to generation.

The impact that addiction has on a family is harsh, and family addiction treatment will help all involved:

• The traditional family runs into trouble when the sober spouse tries to protect the children, assuming the roles of both parents. Studies have shown that children suffer very direct problems as a result of an abusing parent.

• The blended family fights through integration problems. A member of the family suffering from addiction may be cast out or separated by some, and divisions can arise as a result.

• Someone simply living with a spouse or partner could require both to enter into treatment. Codependence is a major issue among households such as these.

• An adolescent abuser in a family will necessitate family addiction treatment through siblings who may need attention and parents that attempt to balance it out, or parents that focus all the attention on one of the children.

Now, family addiction treatment does have some warnings, and the main one is to watch out for the endangerment of family members. A family cannot go through therapy together if there is physical abuse and battering taking place. In that situation, the abuser needs to be separated from the rest of the family, and treatment needs to be administered to family members separately.

The impact that an addiction can have on a family of any kind is monumental. It is important to not assume that merely the addict is the only one that needs professional help. Often, the family as a whole needs assistance in coping with the problem and dealing with it in an open and healing fashion. In situations like these, family addiction treatment can be effective and maybe even necessary.

Hope For A Sober Tomorrow

If you feel your friend or family member is steeped in a dangerous addiction, staging an intervention can be an effective way to get that person to seek help. The key is it has to be done well. Here are a few tips to ensure that you put together an effective intervention:

Plan it out.

Go to the people around him or and speak to them privately about the idea of an intervention. You want the people closest to him, who care about him, and who he cares about as well. Even if you do not like someone who he cares about, it’s important to let these biases be put aside for the purpose of this. If he doesn’t care about the people confronting him, it won’t work. He has to respect these people, and value their opinions. The threat of these people walking out on him needs to have great impact. Keep the group on the smaller side: no need to invite the whole, extended family. Try to keep the number in single digits, if you can. A more intimate group will be more effective. It also has to be clear that this intervention is a surprise, to keep the addict from avoiding the situation.

Seek additional help.

It may be beneficial to talk to an interventionist, who can guide you through the intervention process and, if requested, be present during the intervention. Having an addiction specialist present can help moderate the group if the group does not know what they are doing.

Prepare in advance.

With or without the interventionist, the group should meet beforehand to lay out how they will approach the addict and what they will say to him. Treatment options should be researched in advance, so that help can be suggested and offered immediately. It may be good for everyone to have a speech or something to say written out beforehand, so that everyone’s impact can be felt on the person. That way, everyone can adjust their speeches if they sound too blaming, rather than loving. The tone of the intervention is extremely crucial. Everyone then also should offer an ultimatum to push the addict to action. It may be difficult to do this for many, but it is one of the keys to an effective intervention. Preparing in advance can also clue in the group to any rejections or resistance that the addict may show towards the group.

Be careful during the intervention.

Keep the atmosphere positive. You want the addict to know you are here to help, not to blame. Also, keep the discussion about “I” and not “you.” By doing this, you are speaking about your feelings, and not pointing fingers. This person will be defensive, so don’t insult or berate him. If the interventionist is there, he can help talk through the objections.

Take immediate action.

Following the intervention, the addict will either admit it or deny it. If he admits it, escort him to his place, help him pack a bag, and take him to a treatment center for admission. If he denies it, unfortunately, the ultimatum’s consequences must begin immediately. Hopefully, the lack of his loved ones supporting him will prompt him to take action in a few days.

ABC News Recently reported on a “virtual reality game… that presents various temptations” the game created by Duke University Professor Zach Rosenthal, allows recovering addicts to make their way through a computer generated world that resembles the world they may encounter when leaving treatment. As Rosenthal puts it “What we’re trying to do is take people into a virtual crack-related neighborhood or crack-related setting and have them experience cravings, just like they would in the real world”. Rosenthal as many other professionals in the addiction field believe, cravings are a learned experience and can be unlearned.

In a nutshell the addict is put into a situation where a strong craving is encountered and once the craving begins to fade the therapist ties the moment of decreased urges in with a tone. As the article describes, “For example, if an addict ends up in a tempting situation, he or she can take out the phone donated by the program, dial a number and hear that tone. The addict remembers the sound learned in the therapy session, and the craving should subside.”

This idea is not new and has been used in other forms for quite some time. Dr. Paul McKenna, a world renowned hypnotist, author and now TV Star on the the Learning Channel TV Show I can Make You Thin, uses similar associative therapy methods to help people curb many addictions, including food, smoking, and drugs.

The power of one’s mind is certainly nothing new to addicts. These therapies are certainly something worth looking into. Learned behaviors drive the disease of addiction and the outcomes of these studies will certainly help save lives.

For more information, go to www.dukescience.org