Realizing that your friend is addicted to drugs can be absolutely terrifying. What’s worse is suspecting that they could be but not knowing for sure, watching helplessly as their life spirals further out of control. Addiction is considered to be a physical or psychological dependency on a substance, despite prevalent negative consequences permeating into every area of their existence. Should you say something? Will it push them away?
An intervention is designed to get an individual to change or alter their actions or habits. But no matter how great your words are or how much you pour your heart out, it has to be the individual who ultimately decides to make a change. The concept of motivational interviewing is to use empathy to get the interviewee to talk openly and comfortably about the issues at hand, and what they can do to change.
There are those that say addicts and people who are dependent on alcohol made their choices. They picked up their first drink, they tried their first illicit substance, they were present and willing every time the decision to drink and use again was made. They view the addict or alcoholic as “weak willed” or rebellious and selfish, and fail to see the human being displaying symptoms of a potentially fatal disease. Addiction is a disease. Here’s why.
When we think of celebrities, it’s easy to think about what movies they’ve been in, what songs they have sung, or what accomplishments they have made in their lives. We think of their Instagram posts, appearances on late night television, or even the ordinary moments that remind us that they are human.
