General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: OK, DUers- I need advice, and this is not a political post [View all]Stinky The Clown
(67,834 posts)All the love and all the programs and all the methadone clinics and all rehab facilities will do NOTHING for them until they decide they want to do it.
Saying they want to do it is not enough. They need to do it for themselves. You can support them after they initiate things.
Consider: when the habit is too big or expensive, or the couch surfing gets too old or they become unwelcome (they will) they often get into a program just to cut down the size of the habit.
To help them when they are not ready is to simply enable them. I am a sap, a bleeding heart, a soft touch, and a twenty-plus year veteran of this horrible cycle. If you can do it wrong while trying to "help" I have done it all.
Nar-A-Non is your friend. Visit a meeting. Keep an open mind, and keep going back until the things you'll learn bore their way into your DNA. What you will get at Nar-A-Non is learned from the stories of others. There is no silver bullet. No easy fix. The program is there to help YOU, not the addicts. When you get the right perspective you will be able to help in ways you never thought possible.
As an aside, while methadone can work wonders it is still a highly addictive substance and, literally, a more difficult habit to break than is heroin or, of late, fentenyl.