KCI The Anti_Meth Site

Intervention: Not for the weak at heart

luve piphany	Intervention is not for the weak at heart... I have seen an intervention in a friend's daughter-they had her kidnapped at age 16 on New years Eve and sent her to a Montana boot camp school treatment. She made it through almost the whole time. She was released 1 month before her graduation from the program because her mom wanted her to go on vacation with the family. Granted, she didn't finish her program and that's never a good thing to have on the heart, but she did come home, graduate from highschool and stayed clean off meth as far as I know. I later found out that a friend and another guy I know may have been providing her pot and maybe meth in a secondhand way through other people....It broke my heart that my friends' didn't know that their daughter was still using after all the h3ll they had gone through. The girl is now living with her boyfriend, is 20 and has kept a job and an apartment. I believe that her intervention did work in many ways. I am sure that she learned many things in that program that she can use in her life as an addict to make the right choices. Will she live a clean life? Maybe not, but I see her living and that is 180degrees from where she was. I think that intervention Did work....I know it made changes and when nothing changes, nothing changes (and everyone gets sicker) I do believe that eventually, meth addicts become so brain damaged that they lose the ability to choose or desire any help-literally mentally disabled. At that time, an adult meth addict will not get help without some type of intervention whether it be locking em up in a mental institution or hospital, jail or death. I believe that only God can get through brain damage....sometimes God uges people to create an intervention of some sort, sometimes, He doesn't get through to anyone. I do believe He is still there As a loved one of a currently lost meth addict who clearly has brain and spirit damage, I try to pray for the "laborers" the people who may be instrumental in intervening in the meth addict's life-that includes myself, other people who love him, strangers, other recovering meth addicts, police, doctors....I pray that all those people may have enough love in their lives and a God of their understanding so they may hear and act when urged. I have watched chances for this meth addict to get help-to help himself, go by unheeded. Many man and God made interventions that he just wasn't ready or able to understand were chances to get free. Hazeldon has a book, Love First, A New Approach to Intervention for Alcoholism and Drug Addiction. It gives step by step instructions for a family intervention with or without a professional interventionist. It gives support and tools for the loved ones to survive regardless of the results of the intervention as well as indepth wisdom on the parts that family and loved ones may play in the way the addict see's his/her life. Intervention planning/acting out is not for the weak or downtrodden. If an addict is so angry with mom or dad or wife/husband etc. from past hurts and resentments, they may use those people as "reasons" to not get clean and those people may need to be put on the sidelines and maybe just write a letter. It also gives examples of addict's excuses from A-Z and how to deal with them in hopes to still urge them to get treatment. We loved ones need to really look at what and how our past mistakes/resentments may contribute to the addict's addiction. Not to say that we caused it, but hard as it may be to accept, we are human and we all have the ability to hurt the one's we love. I remember sfj reminding me of this many times. If we want to do an intervention, we have to be prepared to face some hard truths and hurts. Of course it can be a healing and life changing experience to do an intervention, but it's no easy task. The book really makes it clear that All involved need to be Ready for Recovery.
LivesWith Wolves	Re: Intervention is not for the weak at heart... Awesome post - thank you.
PinkAnne	Re: Intervention is not for the weak at heart... A very cool reading. Thanks for sharing