Your Friend Overdosed: What You Can Do Now
An overdose occurs when a person uses so much of a substance that it causes their nervous system to shut down. Their breathing and heart rate slow until they can no longer function properly. An overdose is a serious, life-threatening event that requires immediate medical care.
If your loved one suffered an overdose and is leaving the hospital, you may need to know what to do now. What does that overdose mean to their future? Do they need professional help?
At Victory Addiction Recovery Center, we work with families facing incredible challenges like this. If your loved one is suffering, reach out to us now for immediate support and guidance on your specific options.
How to Help a Person Recover After an Overdose
Overdose rates in Louisiana are the 9th highest in the country, according to news reports. That statistic is scary, but it means very little to families and close friends who are facing the very harsh reality in their everyday lives.
A friend or family member’s overdose hits home in a very different way. For some, it may have meant calling 911 to get them help. It may mean holding them up and trying to get them to respond. Once they get help, perhaps spend a few days in the hospital, then the question becomes even bigger. Will this happen again?
You cannot prevent a future overdose yourself. The responsibility is not yours alone. However, there are some steps you can take to help your loved one get the care they need.
Play a Role in Their Recovery
Show up at the hospital, talk to the doctors, and listen to what the complications and risks to the future are. If you are a close family member, you may want to speak with the hospital about the steps available to help them get into treatment.
What’s most important right away is to show you care. Let your loved one know that you are there for their initial recovery and healing, but that you also want to be there for the long-term support they need. You may just be happy they are okay right now, but the fear of the future may drive you to do more.
Set Boundaries and Rules
Many people feel overwhelmed and terrified after suffering an overdose. They may be unsure where to go from there. This is the ideal time to have some tough conversations, including setting boundaries.
- Give yourself some time and space to think through what happened. This is a traumatic event for you as well.
- Communicate with your loved one about what happened to you when they overdosed. Make it clear how that experience impacted you through fear, trauma, and anxiety.
- Provide statements of clarity about what you will and will not do. Don’t overpromise being there to support them if you cannot do so. At the same time, make it clear where the rules are.
- Stick to your boundaries. If you tell them that you will no longer be able to help or support them if they continue to use, stick to that. Don’t give them money or bail them out. Instead, hold firm in your commitment.
- Recognize that it’s okay to walk away. There are times when substance use disorders (SUD) will be emotionally challenging for family members. You can take a break.
Protecting your own well-being should not be an afterthought. You cannot rely on your loved one to be able to protect you.
Explore and Encourage Treatment
You cannot force someone into treatment, but you can provide them with the resources to make that decision. With the help of other close family members or friends, doctors, and even the emergency room physician who helped, communicate the need for treatment clearly.
Those in active addiction benefit first from detox. This process occurs in a medically monitored treatment center. Our team monitors their health and mental well-being as their bodies detox from the substances. They gain support right away.
It then requires a stay in a residential treatment program like ours. Treatment can take several weeks, and it does mean sacrificing time with your loved one. You may need to provide help for meeting their responsibilities so they can get treatment. Doing so can change their future.
You Cannot Change the Future on Your Own
At Victory, we help families get their loved ones the treatment they need after an overdose. Your first step is to reach out to us. Let us know what is happening, and we can offer you guidance on program availability and insurance coverage. Then, have those hard conversations. Make sure your loved one knows what you will and will not do to support their addiction recovery.
Turn to Victory now to learn more about our addiction treatment program in Louisiana. Let us put your loved one on the right track forward. Contact us now.