Methor methamphetamine is a highly addictive stimulant that affects your central nervous system by interacting with the neurotransmitters of the brain. It causes increased energy and alertness, and at the same time suppresses appetite. This powerful stimulant makes it difficult for a meth user to break the addiction. Seeing a loved one struggling to come out of a meth addiction is a shattering experience.

How to Help a Methamphetamine Addict

Helping your loved one overcome the addiction while making sure he or she knows you care about how he or she feels is never easy. It is more like walking on eggshells because you have to understand what to say and what not to say in different situations. Here are some suggestions for you.

1. Encourage Them to Get Treatment

Once meth hijacks the brain of an addict, it is usually quite difficult to reason him or her into getting the right treatment. How to help a methamphetamine addict? It is important to talk to the addict and get him or her thinking about their addiction. To encourage an addict to get treatment, you have to ask questions that create a sense of doubt in his or her mind. For example, ask "Don’t you think you look much better than before?" instead of asking whether he or she will use the drug again. 

2. Never Antagonize the Addict

It is quite natural to lose your patience when making someone understand the importance of breaking the habit of using meth. However, you should never do anything that would antagonize or make the addict feel hostile about the whole situation. Meth causes short term and long term effects such as insomnia and irritability, making addicts become more violent and anxious. It is therefore important to talk to addicts in a soothing voice and never engage in any argument that would cause angry feelings. Do not blame them for what they have done. 

3. Take Them to the Hospital in an Emergency

There can be both acute and chronic versions of meth overdose. A person may have to deal with life-threatening effects after taking a high dose of the drug. You should take the individual to the hospital in case you notice symptoms of meth overdose. Some of the most common symptoms are chest pain, agitation, coma, heart attack, paranoia, insomnia, seizures, stroke, severe stomach pain, hallucinations, and delusional behavior.

Some individuals also show signs of malnutrition, severe dental problems, extreme weight loss, and skin problems including boils, sores, and rashes. These are the signs of chronic overdose. In this situation, you should ensure that the person gets treatment for these symptoms. 

4. Get Addiction Treatment for the Person

How to help a methamphetamine addict? You should take them to receive professional addiction treatment. Meth addition treatment can be found in an outpatient and inpatient capacity. Many free clinics now also offer addiction treatment for addicts. You can go online and search the database to find treatment facilities in your local area. While it really helps to make someone understand the importance of getting treatment, it works even when the treatment is not voluntary. You will have to take a decision on behalf of your loved one who cannot be reasoned into getting treatment. 

Whether the treatment is voluntary or involuntary, it usually involves giving medications to help treat the symptoms of withdrawal. It also involves dealing with issues associated with stimulant-induced psychosis. Treatment also includes therapy sessions to help an addict understand how to fight his or her cravings. Sometimes, other mental disorders may make things difficult, so it is important to get those disorders treated at the same time to prevent future drug abuse.

Treatment for meth addiction provides the addict with a safe environment to heal. Without receiving formal addiction treatment, it is usually not possible for an addict to break the addiction.

5. Listen to Them

To understand how to help a methamphetamine addict, you also need to make efforts to listen to how he or she feels throughout treatment. Be ready to talk about what the addict is going through and be as supportive as you can. Your support makes it a lot easier for an addict to overcome his or her addiction. You should also keep in mind that an addict can always relapse, but you should not judge him or her for relapsing. Avoid being judgmental in this situation and provide adequate support to make it possible for a meth addict to break this curse.