Contact us if you have a loved one who is struggling with addiction. It can be a very painful experience to watch a family member slowly spiral downward because of an addiction problem. Do you have a member of your family who has been abusing drugs or alcohol for a considerable amount of time? Has this person alienated all of his or her friends and family? Has this person experienced workplace and relationship problems? If this is the case, you need to get your loved one some professional help as soon as possible. Otherwise, there is a very good chance that a tragedy might occur. Unfortunately, getting your family member to enter rehab could be much easier said than done. Here are several of the most effective ways that you can accomplish this goal.

1. Tell your family member that they have nothing to lose and everything to gain by checking into a rehab facility

There are many reasons why people do not want to attend rehab. Your family member might have heard some bad things about what rehab is like. You need to get this person to understand that an inpatient rehab facility is not a jail. He or she will be able to quit treatment and go home at any point. It is completely your loved one’s decision to stay or go. Your family member should not have any fear about rehab because the people at the facility are there to help. They cannot force your loved one to do anything he or she does not want to do. It is important to remember this. Everything is done on a purely volunteer basis in a rehab facility. Your loved one needs to want to get better. At the end of the day, you can’t stop an addict from using unless the person truly wants to stop.

2. Set up meetings where your family member can meet with people who have already successfully made it through the rehab process.

A good way of getting rid of your loved one’s unreasonable fears about rehab would be to have him or her talk to people who have already spent time in a rehab facility. These people will be able to answer all of your family member’s questions in great detail. They will be able to reassure your loved one that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of. These former addicts can also tell your loved one how their time in a rehab facility has changed their lives for the better. Your family member will hopefully start to see that the positives of going to rehab far outweigh the negatives.

3. It is important for your family member to understand that many of the people he or she meets while in rehab will become friends for life.

One of the biggest reasons why so many people who attend inpatient drug or alcohol treatment are able to kick their habit is the friends they make while they are there. The bonds that recovering addicts form during the rehab process are very special indeed. People who join Greek organizations in college consider the other members to be a part of their family. Going Greek in recovery simply means that you become part of a family with the other patients who are attending rehab with you. The friendships and support system that your family member will create while in rehab will be incredibly useful in helping him or her to finally overcome their deadly addiction.

4. Tour a few rehab facilities so your family member can get an idea of what life will be like there during treatment.

Another thing you can do to eliminate the unreasonable fears your family member has about rehab is to tour treatment facilities with him or her. It is very important for your loved one to see how these places operate. He or she can talk to the various members of the staff. Encourage your family member to ask questions about the daily routine that all patients are expected to follow. It is at this point that your loved one will hopefully begin to see that his or her fears were unfounded.

5. Discuss all of the advantages that inpatient rehab treatment can give to your loved one.

You should make a list of all the ways that inpatient treatment is an effective way for your loved one to finally get clean and sober. This might just do the trick.