We all should take our health seriously, but when a friend is in dire need of support because they are damaging themselves, helping them onto the right path is never simple. You may have been through an experience where you have a friend of yours that needs your help, but you don’t know what to do. When they are displaying destructive behavior, or going through an addiction, a friend is something they need, and you can be there. But sometimes it’s not so easy just to be there, especially if they resist you every step of the way. When we are trying to help a friend in this scenario, what approaches could we take?
Tough Love
It is something we are all aware of because we come from a generation where tough love was pretty much all the only thing our parents had in their toolbox. But when we find out what the problem is, and we try to put them on the straight and narrow, but they ignore us at every turn, sometimes, tough love could be the solution. Tough love comes in many different forms, and it’s never an easy thing to implement. It is a very old-fashioned approach, but in the modern-day, we can use certain approaches to help our friends by not necessarily being overly harsh, but by looking out for their best interests in other ways. For example, if you had a friend who is addicted to substances, something like a regular toxicology screening could be the best way to make sure you don’t fall off the wagon. If you want to find more information about this approach, you can go to the Brad Schaeffer MedComp site. Tough love is not an easy thing to do, because we can feel that we are being too harsh, but you have to remember that tough love can be effective.
Alternative Therapies
We can try to help someone in need, but if they don’t want our help, it’s not us that is the problem, but it could be that they need a different type of therapy. If they need professional help, you could try a different formula. There are different ways to help people so they can get the support they need, while also learning about themselves in the process. Sometimes, it depends on our belief system. We don’t have to be religious, but sometimes having the insight of someone who has been through the same thing can lead them to change and understand where they’ve gone wrong. Different types of practices, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy and other talking therapies can be invaluable. It’s also important to note that there is a lot of support in professional circles such as addiction centers. Just because you don’t have the tools and techniques doesn’t mean you should give up on them; they may just need an extra helping hand.
When we’re trying to get a friend’s back onto the right path, if they don’t succeed, we can feel that we failed them. But the reality is that if we are concerned, help comes in many forms.
