It’s never easy to understand why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab. It’s always a bit awkward when a kid walks up to you and hits you with, “where do babies come from?” But, while those kinds of questions are merely awkward, some others are just plain difficult. One such question is the one about why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab.

This one can be pretty frustrating because, from your standpoint, alcohol rehab is the only reasonable thing to do. After all, it helps to get your life back together and is better for your health. So, why exactly aren’t they doing it? Don’t they see how good it is for them? 

In this article, we’ll answer that crucial question and give some suggestions as to how you can help them.

The Reasons Your Loved One is Not Going to Alcohol Rehab

The truth is that sometimes, you may be the only one who sees the benefits of alcohol addiction rehab for your loved one. So, here are a few possible reasons why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab. 

They think it’s too expensive

This is one of the main reasons many people are reluctant to go for addiction rehab. For them, it is just a whole lot easier to continue downing bottles of their favourite beer. It is even worse if your loved one has other expenses they have to handle. 

They’ll capitalize on this with excuses about how they still have to pay their rent. In a situation like this, it can be difficult to convince them to go to rehab. This is usually because they see alcohol as a necessity and alcohol treatment as a luxury. However, while it is difficult, it isn’t impossible.

They’re scared of being judged

Humans are relatively strange creatures. Some of us like to think that we don’t care what people think about us. The truth is that we do, and an alcohol addict feels the same way too, despite being completely hammered. One of the reasons your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab is that they are afraid of being judged. 

This is because we all have that one person we look up to, and we don’t want them to know that we’re not quite as great as they think we are. If your loved one with an alcohol addiction fears that that person they hold in high esteem might find out about the rehab, it might be a red flag for them. 

They’ll start coming up with excuses or even admit it to you in a straightforward fashion. Either way, it is up to you to try to help them through it.

Denial: They don’t think they have a problem yet

One of the biggest problems with addiction is denial. It also comes with other issues like grief, but that’s a conversation for another day. One of the reasons why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab may be that they still think they’re fine. As long as they’ve not gotten a permanent alcohol breath they don’t see a problem with their drinking. 

This is a particularly challenging situation to work around for different reasons. For starters, a person who does not see a problem will see no reason for help. A person who sees no reason for help is likely to resist getting help, and the circle just keeps rolling.

Fear of the difficulties that might come along with it

One of the things about alcohol addiction treatment is that it aims to help you get over your dependency. For that reason, it is as thorough as possible in its methods, often taking several days to ensure results. In fact, this is the case with many different kinds of addiction. 

Unfortunately, many alcohol addicts do not see this thoroughness as a blessing. Many see it as a challenge that they really cannot get over. So, they just choose to avoid it altogether. It is not constant across all alcohol addicts. But, it could still be a major reason why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab. 

They don’t think it will work

This is basically the other side of the spectrum we mentioned earlier. It’s not that most people think it’s impossible to stop drinking. They believe they are so far gone that no amount of talking is going to help. 

So, they’d rather stay home all day and crack open another than to get addiction treatment in Vancouver.

Related article: Addiction Services in Vancouver: Why You May Need Professional Help

How to Get a Loved One to Alcohol Rehab

Now, we’ve pointed out possible reasons your loved one may be resisting addiction treatment. However, you still have to be able to help your loved one. Here are three strong suggestions on how you can do that:

Do not guilt trip

For some reason, many people think that this is a good idea. They’ll go on about how alcohol has made their friend a deadbeat dad or how their mom skills have depleted. The underlying hope behind this action is that the guilt from those words will force them to change. 

Unfortunately, this is not the most effective way to do it. Usually, you can only ride a wave of negative emotions for so long. Eventually, your loved one will stop feeling guilty, and they’ll go back to conquer that bottle. 

Instead of guilt-tripping them, try to be more encouraging. Show them how much better their lives can be without the bottle. If you’re consistent with that, you should be able to convince them much more easily. 

Stop enabling

Why send your loved one some extra cash when you know that they’re just going to use it to buy another six-pack? This completely defeats the purpose. You’ll only be helping them to continue the habit they were trying to get rid of before. 

So, as much as you can, stop enabling their habits. It doesn’t directly get them to go to the rehab centre, but it’ll put less alcohol in their hands.

Organize an intervention

Some parts of mainstream media have made interventions look like lame, low-budget, no-fun parties with no real results. But, this is a great understatement of the power of interventions. So, if all else fails and you’re trying to get your loved one to get addiction treatment, you can try organizing an intervention. 

It is crucial to get those they care about the most as it will have the most impact. However, you must be careful not to allow any negativity or judgement to seep into the intervention session. This can put your loved one in a defensive mood and defeat the entire purpose of the intervention.

In Conclusion

There are several different reasons why your loved one is not going to alcohol rehab. People are different, and it’s almost impossible to say precisely why they are refusing something so good. However, no matter the reason, you should still try to help them. 

One of the ways you can do that is by checking out our alcohol addiction treatment. We have designed our treatment specifically to cater to loved ones who may be struggling. From customized treatment plans to holistic forms of therapy, we’ve got your loved one covered. No matter how far gone they are, we’re here to help! Call Inspire Change Addiction Rehab in Vancouver for addiction treatment programs.