Understanding Addiction & Treatment: The Balance Approach

Addicts will often convince you that they will become better. This is because in that moment – they mean it. Their prefrontal cortex is on – they are able to speak rationally and see the situation for what it is. But at this point, the person is not choosing . Torres says, “This comes from a very internal, emotional need that pulls you in a direction and you can’t stop it. I was an addict, I remember the thoughts. I used to tell myself don’t go there, you want to make a change – don’t go there. But I was going.” An addict does not want to admit the problem because of fear. They believe what they tell themselves, because the alternative is too painful. So they deny, deny, deny.

When it comes to taking steps to help a loved one change their life – you have to use tough love. Only 5% of addicts willing go to treatment on their own, the other 95% will go because of friends, family, and loved ones stepping in. Torres recommends involving a lot of people when you want to stage an intervention. He explains: “If one person says they need help, they can manipulate it and convince themselves that they are wrong. But if you do an intervention with four, five, or six people – it can be extremely effective.” He goes on: “It is very hard. You have to put your foot down. You have to say that we are ready to stop helping, to forget about you. But you do that with the door to treatment. If you want us as a family to be with you, this is the option. Then you open the door of treatment, and they go. If the addict sees weakness in your eyes, they will run right over you. You have to mean it. You have to be ready to shut the door. It’s very difficult, extremely but then they go to rehab and they take the step to fix their life.”