Worrying about your senior’s obvious addiction? Well, you’re not alone. It was reported that there is a growing number of seniors admitted into rehab centers for drug abuse, unfortunately, experts suspect there are more out there who just won’t accept the fact that they need help—and fast! Worse, caregivers don’t have any idea that their seniors are already addicted to substances their bodies don’t necessarily need, or are too busy to recognize the signs.
One of the most abused substances in a senior’s group is alcohol, second to that is prescription drugs. It is important to note that alcohol abuse in seniors should be taken seriously and should be treated at once as it is very dangerous for an aging body to still be taking alcohol. Most recommended for seniors is to undergo alcohol rehabilitation and for caregivers to prevent relapse.
Your senior’s addiction may need intervention since it can be hard to just ask a senior to submit himself to rehabilitation. Remember that it is not always that the addicted person accepts that he or she is indeed an addict. It may need some more time or even a fall-out with authorities or a run-in with death to actually convince a senior that rehabilitation is what they need. The best way of intervention is to seek help of a professional whom you think your senior will listen to and respect advices since most of the time family intervention is not enough.
Once the hardest part is over, it was found out that once a senior starts the program, they are most likely to finish it without further resistance. However, it is important for your senior to attend a rehabilitation program that is specifically designed for their age rather than in a mixed program in which they are exposed to other age group. Experts explain that seniors respond differently to treatments than any other age group. It is because when they finally submit themselves to treatments, they take everything seriously and they really strive to get treated the soonest possible time. Aside from that seniors have different health problems, needs and wants from younger patients.
In a senior’s rehab program, treatments are closely supervised since their health should be taken into consideration at all times. There are also individual and group therapies which will benefit your senior tremendously in getting into the root cause of their addiction. Holistic drug treatments are usually practiced when seniors are concerned. Treatments like this aim to treat entire well-being rather than the addiction alone. Also, in a senior’s rehab program, support stays even when they are already an out-patient thus making sure your senior stays “clean” even on the outside world.
