How to Confront a Spouse About Drug Abuse
If you suspect your spouse has developed a habit of drug abuse, trust your feelings. You know your spouse better than anyone, and as much as they may try to keep their drug abuse secret from you, you’re bound to know that something is wrong. After all, most people who abuse drugs change their behavior even when they don’t realize it. They lose motivation, their routines change, they get low on money, and their health deteriorates. If you know your spouse uses drugs and he or she exhibits any of these issues, then abuse is a real possibility.
Now that you know about your spouse’s drug abuse, what next? It’s not easy to confront a loved one about this issue. Drug abusers tend to get defensive when confronted. They may lash out or withdraw emotionally, and it’s easy to interpret this as hostility. But the first thing for you to realize is that it’s not about you. If your spouse responds poorly to your efforts to intervene, try not to take it personally. In all likelihood your spouse is internally conflicted about the issue, and they may be in denial.
The good news is that denial rarely lasts forever. Some people who abuse drugs or alcohol eventually hit rock bottom and reach a point where denial is no longer possible. Obviously you do not want your spouse to reach that point, so try to find other ways to move beyond the denial and defensiveness.
One way to do this is to organize an intervention. Once you know for sure that your spouse has descended into drug abuse, get together a few other close loved ones and talk about working together to plan an intervention. The process of organizing an intervention can be complex and challenging, so you might want to hire an interventionist to help with the process.
If you don’t want to go as far as an intervention just yet, there are other options. It could be that your spouse just needs you to talk honestly about how the drug abuse is negatively affecting your relationship and your family. Sometimes addicts just need to hear from someone they love that their habit has gone too far. Whatever you do, don’t let it go on too long. Addictions get worse over time, so try to help your spouse soon.
If you’re an admitted drug addict and you’ve finally realized that Drug Abuse is destroying your life, all you really have to do is to ask for help. Reach out to someone. You can tell a family member or a friend that you want to get better and that you’re tired of being sick. Individuals who admit to their Drug Abuse and who are willing to receive help have a much higher chance of recovering from the condition completely compared to those who are in denial. If you’ve asked for help, you’ve already overcome one of the greatest hindrances to recovery: