Intervention

Experience has taught me, that no matter how hurt, lost or despairing a person may be, it doesn't have to be that way. Nor does a chemically dependent person have to hit bottom before help can be initiated and accepted. The earlier you take action, the more likely it will be that the person will fully recover and stop causing pain to self and others. Nevertheless, it's never too late to intervene.

To intervene with a chemically dependent person means coming between the person and his or her drug of choice, to instigate a course of treatment and ultimately recovery. Intervention is the first step that can be taken by people like you who care about the person with the problem. It is a constructive, caring confrontation carried out as an act of compassion, with dignity and respect for all concerned.

CASE NOTES: "I Did What?!"
(When They Won't Quit, page 51)

I once worked with an alcoholic lawyer who had been vacationing with his
family at an ocean resort. He woke up one morning covered with scraped skin
from his nose to his feet. The day before his family found him trying to
take a swim in the driveway in front of his beach house. When he was told
about the incident, his response was an incredulous "I did what?" I also
intervened with a fellow who had been under the influence of LSD when he
crushed a man against a wall with his car. When the police later arrested
him and told him what he had done, he too reacted with shocked disbelief. "I
did what!"