Skip to main content

Watching a family member, a friend or even a work colleague suffer from alcohol abuse can be tough. You’ll undoubtedly want to help change the situation, whether they want your help or not. Alcohol addictions can range in their severity however treatment and intervention is always recommended, as early as possible too. While it is always up to that person in particular to want to seek help, there are ways that you can support their journey to sobriety. You can use our alcohol dependency test to help determine if you or the person you are reaching out for needs help.

Articles About Alcoholism

Need Help With An Alcoholic? Speak To Us

Speak to our addiction specialists in Essex who can help you today.

It’s All In The Approach

Here is a rundown of the things you can do to safely help someone towards a clean and sober lifestyle.

Learn About Alcohol Abuse

Before you’re able to help anyone, it will pay to actually find out about alcohol addiction itself so you have a better idea of what’s going on. Alcoholism is more than merely getting drunk a little too often. Alcoholism is when alcohol becomes a coping mechanism for that individual. It becomes their crutch for everyday life. Here at Infinity Addiction Solutions, we can offer information as well as advice and guidance to help you establish whether the person in your life could be suffering from alcoholism or may simply be enjoying this substance more than you’d like.

Practice What You’ll Say & How You’ll Say It

It always pays to be prepared. Practicing what you’re going to say when you approach this person is paramount. You’ll need to avoid being negative and hurtful. You should also use statements with the word ‘I’, in order to reduce the chance of coming across accusatory. Prepare for the fact that you may not get the response you were expecting.

Pick An Appropriate Time & Place

It’s so important to pick the time and place. Approaching them in the middle of a crowded room isn’t the ideal spot. Choose a quiet place to have your discussion. Make sure it’s distraction free and if possible, make sure that person is sober at the time.

Approach & Listen

Don’t just approach to talk at them. Listen. And ensure you’re listening with compassion. Make sure they know you’re there to support them, that they mean a lot to you and you want to help them. Also be prepared to give them the time and space they need to make a decision or even move through the denial stage before coming back for help.

Offer Support & Intervene If Necessary

You cannot force someone to want to seek treatment but you can offer your support and you can offer a non-judgemental shoulder to lean on. If however, they still don’t seek treatment and their substance abuse worsens, it may be time to intervene. Here at Infinity Addiction Solutions, we can help you should you need to intervene with advice on getting that person into treatment and finding the right treatment centre for them.

Need Help With An Alcoholic? Speak To Us

Speak to our addiction specialists in Essex who can help you today.

Supporting Them During Their Journey

It’s imperative that once that person is seeking treatment, you should still provide them with the necessary support. In order to do this as best you can, you may want to consider a few pointers such as:

  • Do not drink in front of them
  • Do not take on their responsibilities 
  • Do not provide them with financial support you cannot afford
  • Do not tell them what to do

Contact Us For Advice

Alcoholism is tough, for both the sufferer and those around them so it’s important you get help for yourself if you start to feel the strain. If you’d like more help and advice or perhaps information on our alcohol addiction treatment services, please don’t hesitate to contact us today on 0800 3345541.