6 Tips to Helping a Friend Quit Drinking
When a friend or a loved one becomes addicted to alcohol, you may feel pain as watch him tearing his life apart. And although quitting the use of alcohol is a personal decision, most alcoholics need to be assisted to reach a level where they are no longer dependent on the bottle. For a start, you know that such a person is at high risk of getting fired by his employer for reporting to work late. If he is a family man, you know that his spouse and kids are suffering in silence because he is hardly there for them and is always wasting family resources. Lastly, you worry about his deteriorating health. The good news is that there are things you can do to help him overcome addiction to alcohol. Here is a list of tips that you can use when assisting a friend achieve sobriety.
- Arrange for a One-on-One Meeting
Once you have realized that your friend is ruining his life by drinking one too many, it’s important you organize for a meeting with him. This is because you can’t help him unless you have had a chance to communicate with him. When scheduling for the meeting, you should make sure that it happens when he is still sober. Morning is actually the best time because most alcoholics drink in the afternoon or late evening. The meeting should also be held in a conducive environment. An ideal place is one that’s quite and offers some sort of privacy.
- Express your Concerns
After your friend has showed up for the meeting, you have to be careful in your choice of words. If you are careless, you might anger him with your offensive statements, which might cause him to walk out on you. For best results, you should start by appreciating him for showing up on a short notice. You should then mention how you care about his well being and conclude by stating that you are worried about how alcohol is ruining his life. In fact, you should highlight on his strengths and mention how he is steering away from his former self. Such statements will make him see the mistake he is making without being judgmental.
- Identify Reasons for Drinking
Interestingly, every alcoholic has a reason that pushed them into binge drinking in the first place. When you know the underlying problem, that’s when you have high chances of success in helping the person quit drinking. By opening up about the problems brought about by overindulging in alcohol, your friend will definitely disclose the reason that caused him to start drinking. Most alcoholics argue that they drink to pass time while others argue that they are stressed by their spouse or employer. If either of these is the main cause, you should hook them with a counselor. If he has been drinking to relax, show him activities he can engage in to help him relax such as biking, art, reading magazines and tending to crops or animals.
- Avoid Tempting the Person
Ditching alcohol is easier said than done. Most addicts find themselves relapsing due to the temptations that they face during the recovery period. As a caring person, you should be the last person to influence your friend to go back to drinking. This means that you should avoid drinking when he is with you because you will make him to develop cravings. Besides that, if the two of used to drink together occasionally, you should avoid the places that you used to frequent. You should not even let him know that you went to a bar last night or anything of the sort.
- Refer him to a Rehabilitation Center
Most alcohol addicts are usually overwhelmed by withdrawal symptoms. If your friend is experiencing such symptoms, it’s advisable you refer him to a reputable rehabilitation facility in your area. If possible, you should personally take him there. The advantage of going to a rehab is that the facilities are well equipped and they have doctors that have experience in handling alcoholics.
- Appreciate the Efforts made by the Person
The best thing you can do to your friend is to appreciate the efforts that he makes towards dropping the bottle. Even if his effort seems very small, you should appreciate him for trying. By appreciating the little that he is able to do, you will be encouraging him to do even more. But if you chose to undermine his efforts, you will end up demoralizing him.
