My Husband Using Drugs . What Should I do ?

One of the most life altering moments in our lives can come when we find out that our suspicions are confirmed, that the person we love and share our life with is addicted to drugs.   Many of us who have been faced with this situation find ourselves going through various emotions:  pain, anger, frustration, and in some cases disbelief.   Once we get over the initial shock of it all, we find ourselves wondering what to do next, and how we can help the one we love recover from addiction.

First, it is important to understand that this isn’t your struggle.  It definitely affects you, but unfortunately you don’t have any control over the situation.  You can’t demand them to stop and expect that they will because more than likely they won’t be able to without professional help from a treatment facility.   The fact that the person you love is addicted to drugs doesn’t mean that they don’t love or care for you, but what it does mean is that they are struggling with a problem.

They may have lied to you about many things in order to hide their addiction, after all they aren’t proud of the fact that they are addicted to drugs, but again it is a problem and they need professional help in order to begin the road to recovery.

What you can do for yourself in the meantime, is to find a support group that is a specifically created for families of those suffering from addicts.  You’ll be able to connect with others who are in similar situations and it will allow you to share your thoughts and feelings with others who are in similar situations.    You may want to contact other family members to join you.

Even though you can’t stop the drug addict from doing drugs, one thing you can do is get other family members together and try to plan an intervention with the addict.   This should be done in your home, or anywhere the addict feels comfortable, and preferably done when he isn’t high.   Try to arrange to have a professional from a local treatment facility on hand that you’ve arranged ahead of time so that they can help confront the addict with their addiction.

An intervention should always be done in a loving and non-aggressive manner so that the addict doesn’t feel threatened.  They need to know that they are loved and that you love them, but not their addiction.  Explain to them the impact that their addiction is having on you, and also on other members of the family, and explain to them how important it is for them to get help.   They may be willing at that moment to admit that they have a problem and are willing to get help.

It’s imperative that you have a residential drug rehab lined up and ready to accept your loved one if they agree to help.  Any delay in this process will give them time to reconsider or to begin craving the drug, which will lessen their chances of actually going to a facility.   If they aren’t willing to admit their problem or accept help, try not to feel defeated.  It isn’t your fault and all you can do is try to make sure that you get as much support from family members and friends that you can, and don’t enable the addict in any way.  If possible cut off all financial support so they won’t have easy access to money for drugs.   Let them know that help is available when they are ready and that they can free themselves of the hold that drugs have on their lives.