It’s no secret that drug abuse hurts families. In fact, a drug addiction can completely dismantle and destroy a family over time. No family is able to manage long on their own as drug abuse progresses and gets worse. With drug abuse rising in the United States families need solutions that truly work.

Addiction intervention can be the solution for your family. You may have seen the tv show Intervention which depicts families coming together to offer treatment for their loved ones. There is a reason that this show has been going strong for over a decade – it’s because intervention works.

Here are signs to look out for that indicate your love one would benefit from a drug abuse intervention:

• Your loved one’s drug use is increasing due to building tolerance.
• Your loved one’s drug is starting to take a toll on their physical appearance.
• Your loved one is lying or manipulating family and friends on a regular basis.
• Your loved one is showing clear signs of drug use (drowsy or erratic behavior depending on their drug of choice).
• Your loved one is having financial troubles that seem to never end.
• Your loved one is experiencing legal repercussions of their drug use.

There are more signs that point towards the need for a drug abuse intervention – but these are the main ones.

It is important to look at how drug addiction affects the family to get a clear picture of the chaos and wreckage a drug addiction can truly cause. The effects of addiction are far-reaching, and people often forget that the addict isn’t the only person who suffers from a dependence to drug or alcohol.

Families, friends, doctors, counselors, law enforcement, and even perfect strangers can be impacted by one person’s addiction. Those without a strong emotional connection to the addicted individual may find themselves falling victim to theft, being manipulated for a prescription, or just having the poor luck of running into an emotionally abusive addict on a bad day. While these people feel the effects of addiction, no one is impacted in the same way as those who are emotionally connected to the addict.

From the mental and emotional impact of seeing your loved one go down such a dark road, to the fear and anxiety that eats away at you when you wonder where your loved one is at night, addiction takes a huge toll on the families and friends of addicts.