When it comes to addiction, so often the help people provide ends up becoming enabling. It’s difficult to ride this line. When you want to help someone you love, you have to be careful not to put them in a position to continue using drugs and alcohol. This is especially difficult when the person is a veteran.
If you know what they’ve been through, you are probably sympathetic to their drug and alcohol use. Whatever the situation, it’s vital to help this person in the right way. Helping doesn’t mean that you should continue to do so when they won’t stop abusing substances. However, if the veteran in your life expresses the desire to heal and recover, below are some ways that you can properly help them.
Offer Assistance with VA Bureaucracy
One of the biggest obstacles to veterans getting the assistance they need is navigating the Veterans Affairs bureaucracy to gain access to their benefits. It’s a dynamic, complicated system that requires a clear mind and patience. If you help the veteran in your life get through the VA bureaucracy, you could provide a way to get funding for proper treatment and access to veteran-specific facilities.
Another way to provide help in this regard is to take them to the offices and make sure they get the information and direction that the person needs. When it comes to veterans who need help for substance abuse, they might not be able to navigate the system—eliminating the possibility of subsidies and other resources. When the person wants to stop using drugs and alcohol, helping them through the VA is a positive and effective step towards healing and recovery.
Research Addiction Recovery Centers
When a person in your life needs addiction treatment and wants the help, you can aid by researching addiction recovery centers. Look for substance abuse programs for veterans, but keep in mind other details. For example, does the person need inpatient or outpatient treatment? Inpatient treatment requires patients to stay in the facility for about a month.
Outpatient is a similar treatment that allows patients to leave and stay at home, but it typically requires them to come to the facility daily for a check-up, counseling, and a 12-step meeting. There is also dual diagnosis treatment, which doesn’t just look at the addiction but takes into account underlying mental health issues.
For a lot of people struggling with substance abuse, and veterans in particular, there is a lot of self-medicating involved in their addiction. Many people who are addicted to drugs or alcohol are struggling with another mental health issue like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), or bipolar disorder. Depending on what the person needs and what kind of treatment will be most effective for them, you can help the veteran in your life by researching the right addiction rehab for their situation.
Drive Them to Meetings
If the veteran in your life doesn’t drive or have a car, another way you can help their recovery is by driving them to 12-step meetings. The 12-step group meeting is a huge part of addiction recovery. Some people in recovery go to a meeting every day. When someone doesn’t have the ability to drive, going to meetings is a lot more difficult.
It is very helpful to drive the veteran in your life to their sobriety meetings. This is only if they are serious about their recovery, of course. Make a deal that you will take them to their meetings if they stay sober. You can even offer to take them out to eat afterwards. It’s just vital to ensure that the person is serious about their sobriety.
A lot of people make the mistake of housing someone addicted to drugs or alcohol that doesn’t want to stop. When the person is committed to recovery, you can help them quite a bit. Relapse is a part of the illness, but if the veteran in your life is dedicated to getting better, you will have the opportunity to offer them real help.
Whether you are helping them navigate the VA, researching treatment centers, taking them to meetings, providing access to shelter, or helping them find a job, it’s all good if the person is dedicated to recovery, healing, and sobriety. If they aren’t, there is not much you can do to help.
