Over the past several years, rates of prescription drug addiction have been on the rise. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reports that in 2017 alone, over 18 million Americans abused prescription medications. The most commonly abused prescription drugs include prescription stimulants (like Adderall, Ritalin, and Concerta), prescription opioids (like hydrocodone and oxycodone), and central nervous system depressants (including benzodiazepines like Xanax, Klonopin, and Valium).
High rates of prescription drug abuse can be largely attributed to the rates at which these drugs are prescribed – especially when it comes to prescription opioids. Even though government officials recently cracked down on distribution, this type of medication is most commonly prescribed.
What Steps Can You Take to Help Someone Overcome Prescription Drug Abuse?
If you know someone who has been struggling with prescription drug addiction, you might be wondering what steps you can take to help. While certain actions you can take, it is important to understand that a person must be somewhat willing to seek professional help – you can’t force treatment upon someone, and addiction is a disease of denial.
This means that even though it might be exceedingly clear to everyone else that rehab has become necessary, the person struggling with addiction might not believe that a real problem exists. So what steps can you take to help someone overcome prescription drug abuse? Continue reading to find out – and remember that if you have any additional questions, you can always reach out to Agape Treatment Center for more information.
Helping Someone Overcome Prescription Drug Abuse
How do you help someone you care about overcome prescription drug abuse? Take the following steps:
- Educate yourself on the disease model of addiction. When you understand how addiction develops and how it affects the brain, you become better equipped to handle the situation.
- Compile a list of recovery resources available in your immediate area. Empowering your loved one to decide to get help is always a great route to go down. But, of course, if they refuse treatment repeatedly, you might have to stage a professional intervention.
- Stage a professional intervention if you have run out of other options. For example, suppose you have had conversations with your loved one about the impact of their addiction, and they have repeatedly refused treatment. In that case, you might need to get in touch with a professional interventionist. At Agape Treatment Center, we work closely with several interventionists in the area, which we are more than happy to put you in touch with.
Agape Treatment Center and Prescription Drug Addiction Recovery
At Agape Treatment Center, we have developed a program of prescription drug addiction recovery that is comprehensive and effective. Our staff is composed of men and women who have combined decades of experience in the realm of substance abuse and mental health. They understand how difficult it can be to overcome addiction, and they have developed a program of recovery that considers all potential roadblocks.
It is so easy to find prescription drugs in the medicine cabinets of friends and family members, each client who has struggled with a prescription drug addiction must have a set of relapse prevention tools in place. These tools can be referred to in the real world (when the client completes treatment and transitions back into independent living) and will help the client stay sober for years to come.
Overcome Prescription Drug Abuse at Agape Treatment Center
In addition to putting a strong emphasis on relapse prevention training, we help our clients transition from a higher level of clinical care into an intensive outpatient treatment program and a sober living house. When it comes to overcoming prescription drug addiction once and for all, it is essential to have an aftercare plan in place. Our clinical team and case managers work with each client to develop a viable aftercare plan that takes all needs into careful consideration. For more information on our prescription drug abuse recovery programs, feel free to reach out to us at any point in time.
