| How to Stop Eye Twitching Posted: 20 Jan 2017 04:00 PM PST Eyelid twitching or eye twitching (also called blepharospasms) can be embarrassing, inconvenient, and downright annoying. It can also seem scary when you have never experienced it before. Eyelid twitching is an involuntary muscle contraction that can have many causes, including eyestrain, fatigue, dry eyes. excessive use of stimulants (such as coffee or medications), dehydration, or excessive alcohol use, but the main cause is stress. Regardless of the cause, don't panic. You have several options available to stop eye and eyelid twitching. EditStopping a Twitch - Start with hard blinking. Shut your eyes as tight as you can. Then open them up as wide as possible. Continue this type of blinking until your eyes begin producing tears. Stop immediately if you experience pain or if the twitching becomes significantly worse.
- Doing this in quick succession spreads tear film evenly. This will cause relief by hydrating the eye, resting the lid, stretching the eye and facial muscles, and increasing eye circulation.
- Relax your eyes with an eye massage. Lightly massage your bottom eyelids in a circular motion using your middle fingers. Massage the lid of the twitching eye for approximately thirty seconds. To prevent irritation or infection, be sure your hands and face are clean first.[1]
- This method has shown results with increasing circulation as well as stimulating and strengthening muscles.[2]
- Blink for thirty seconds. Try to do this with adequate speed. You should also make the movements very light. Imagine that your eyelashes are butterfly wings. The process of blinking is extremely important to your eyes. It relaxes most of the eye muscles, as well as lubricating and cleansing the eyeballs, which can stop the twitching.[3] Stop immediately if you experience pain or if the twitching becomes significantly worse.
- Close your eyelids halfway down. You will notice that your upper eyelids constantly tremble with different amplitude. Concentrate your efforts on stopping this trembling.
- By squinting and helping visual acuity, you place less strain on the eyes. This may help a twitch resulting from a tired eye.[4]
- Exercise eyes with eye squeezing. Close your eyes for one full minute. During this time, squeeze your eyes shut more tightly then release without actually opening them. Perform three repetitions before opening your eyes.
- This exercise can lubricate eyes by increasing tear production. In addition to helping with twitching, you can use the exercise to keep eye muscles strong.[5]
- Give yourself an acupressure massage. Use the above image to locate the acupressure points around your eye. Massage each point lightly in a circular motion for 5-10 seconds before moving to the next. Once you finish the sequence, start again from the beginning. Repeat for approximately two minutes.[6]
- For a similar acupressure technique, place your index and middle fingers on your eyebrows. Press gently and rotate them on the edges of your eye socket bone for five minutes.[7]
- Acupressure methods help eye twitching by increasing circulation to the eye while the closed lid allows tear film to hydrate the eye.
- To prevent irritation or infection, ensure your hands and face are clean first.
- Try eye hydrotherapy techniques. Alternate between splashing your closed eyes with cold and then warm water. The cold water will constrict blood vessels, and the warm water will dilate the same vessels.[8] This process will help increase circulation and blood flow to the eye, which can help with twitching.
- You can also run a wet ice cube over the eyelid before splashing with warm water as opposed to alternating between warm and cold water. Repeat the process 7-8 times.
EditAddressing Possible Causes - Limit caffeine and other stimulant intake. Too much coffee, soda, or even stimulant medications can lead to eye twitching.[9][10] Try cutting back on your intake. Consult with your doctor first before altering your dose of any prescribed medications, though.
- Stay hydrated. Dehydration can cause eye twitching. Try increasing your water intake. Aim for 8-10 glasses of water per day.
- Get more sleep. General fatigue can lead to dry, tired eyes and result in more occurrences of eye twitching.[11][12] Try to get a full 7-8 hours of sleep each night. Also, limit your use of electronic screens such as TVs, mobile devices, and computer screens leading up to bedtime.
- See an eye doctor. Any of the following symptoms may indicate a more serious condition and warrant a trip to an eye specialist:[13][14]
- Twitching that persists for more than one week
- Twitching that completely closes an eyelid
- Spasms that involve other facial muscles
- Redness, swelling, or discharge from an eye
- A drooping upper eyelid
- Accompanying headache or double vision
- If your doctor suspects that a brain or nerve disorder is responsible for eye twitching (such as Parkinson's disease or Tourette syndrome), he or she will examine you for other common signs. The eye doctor may refer you to a neurologist or other specialist.
- Make sure you discuss your current supplements, medications, exercise routine, and diet with your doctor when you go.
- Discuss supplements. Your doctor may run tests to measure your vitamin, mineral, and electrolyte levels since certain deficiencies (such as calcium) can cause eye twitching. Based on the test results, your doctor may prescribe something as simple as an over-the-counter supplement.
- Discuss treatment options. If you experience chronic, benign eye twitching, your doctor may discuss several treatment options. Botulinum toxin (Botox™ or Xeomin) is the most commonly recommended treatment.[15][16] For mild cases, your doctor may also recommend medications such as Clonazepam, Lorazepam, Trihexyphenidyl, or another muscle relaxant.[17]
- If other treatment options fail, your doctor may discuss surgical options as well. Around 75-85% of patients who experience benign eye twitching benefit from myectomy. For this procedure, a surgeon removes some of the muscles and nerves in the affected eyelids.[18] However, this is not a common treatment, as botulinum toxin injections are usually sufficient.
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| How to Have a Nerf War Posted: 20 Jan 2017 08:00 AM PST Nerf wars are tons of fun to play with friends and family, or with local nerf players you connected with online. There are many different ways to organize a nerf game, and you can play several of these in one day if you'd like to organize a big nerf war event. EditOrganizing the War - Choose a location. Nerf wars are usually more fun in large, outdoor areas, such as parks and playgrounds, but if you have access to a large, indoor space or backyard, consider them as well. Make sure the location you select has the following features:[1]
- The area should be clear of other people, especially young children.
- Restrooms should be available nearby. Water fountains and places to buy food are optional, but recommended.
- Cover for people to hide behind. Almost any location besides an open field will have this.
- Choose a backup location nearby. Most Nerf wars are played in public spaces, and you may arrive to find the location already in use. Plan around this in advance by looking for a backup location within walking distance.
- Some public spaces can be reserved in advance through your local community center or school, but this is not always possible.
- If both locations are occupied, politely ask the people present when they will be done. Don't pressure them into leaving, and don't begin the Nerf war until they have left.
- Choose a date and time. Plan the Nerf war at least three weeks in advance, especially if you are trying to recruit new people. Choose a time slot about four hours long if you are holding a typical nerf war. If you are recruiting more than twenty people or planning for a special occasion, you might plan a longer Nerf war, but eight hours is an exhausting upper limit.[2]
- Remember to include meal breaks if necessary. Allow at least half an hour if people are bringing their own lunches, and at least an hour if people plan to eat at restaurants or hold a potluck picnic.
- Pick a time to start wrapping up, at least fifteen minutes before the official end of the war. This lets everyone help gather darts and clean up together, and avoids irritating parents who don't want to wait around for this to happen.
- Recruit nerf warriors. You can have a Nerf war with three or four players, but if you're doing all this planning in advance, you probably have a bigger event in mind. Start contacting your friends as far in advance as you can, and send out a reminder to people who haven't responded within a few days. If you'd like more players, you can try to recruit local players from the Nerf Internet Community, using websites such as NerfHaven or NerfHQ.
- Be aware that Nerf players you find online may be used to a strict set of rules, and will often show up with modified Nerf guns and homemade ammo that can shoot farther and faster than regular Nerf darts.
- Announce the rules you'll be using. Once you have enough people, let them all know the rules you'll be using in advance. There are many different rules you can use in a nerf war, but the important part is to announce them in advance so everyone is playing by the same rules. Here are a couple common sets of rules you could use:[3][4]
- "West Coast rules:" Each player has five "hit points." When someone is hit, he loses one hit point. He then counts down from 20 slowly with his gun held up in the air. He may pick up ammo and walk around, but is not allowed to fire and cannot be hit during this time. He counts down the last five numbers loudly and says "I'm in," and is then back in the game. He leaves the game permanently if he is down to zero hit points.
- "East Coast rules:" Each player has ten hit points, and loses one each time they are hit. There is no 20-second invulnerability period, but if several darts from the same automatic weapon hit you at the same time, this typically only counts as one hit. You leave the game once you are out of hit points.
- Tell everyone about safety equipment and allowable weapons. Eye protection is mandatory for every person present at a Nerf war. In addition, some Nerf weapons and ammo are often banned for safety reasons, or to make it fairer for all players. These vary from game to game, but here are some suggested rules to follow:
- All homemade weighted darts must have a tip covering the weight.[5]
- Nerf guns that can shoot 130 feet (40 meters) or farther are banned.
- All ammo that contains sharp materials is banned, even if the point is hidden inside the ammo.
- Melee weapons such as swords or clubs must be made out of Nerf foam. (In some games, even these are banned.)
- Decide on one or more Nerf games. A Nerf war can last many hours, but usually one game doesn't take nearly that long to finish. Read about different Nerf games below, and choose at least two or three to play in case the players get bored of one type and want some excitement.
- You don't need to figure out an order to play these in in advance. Sometimes it's best to see whether everyone is enjoying themselves, and suggest a switch to a new type of game once people seem bored.
EditTypes of Nerf Games - Hold a straightforward Nerf battle. You don't need much structure to have a fun Nerf war. Pick one of the rules for getting hit described in the section above before the war starts. Divide the group into teams and separate onto opposite ends of the area before you begin the game. You can even have a free-for-all, with each player fighting every other player until one remains.
- If you have a good sense of which players are better than others (or have better equipment), you can divide the group into two equal teams. Otherwise, make the teams at random, and switch the teams after each game.
- Play Humans vs Zombies. This is a popular Nerf game that is especially useful if you don't have enough weapons for everyone. Divide the group into two teams, the Humans and the Zombies. The Human team has Nerf weapons as usual, but the Zombies have no weapons at all. When a Zombie touches a Human, the Human becomes a Zombie. Zombies have "hit points" as usual and lose them when hit by Nerf darts.[6]
- Use a bandana to easily identify team members. Humans wear bandannas on their arm, while Zombies tie it around their head.
- Zombies are not allowed to use weapons even if they steal one.
- Organize a Capture the Flag game. Each team keeps a flag (or any other recognizable object) near the "base" they start out in, but far enough away that it's difficult to defend from the base. The team that brings both flags back to its own flag station wins the game.[7]
- Instead of using the usual rules you decided on, when you're hit, return to your base and count for 20 seconds before returning to the game.[8]
- Consider a 20 minute time limit to avoid the game dragging on too long. Whichever team gets the enemy flag closest to its base by the end of the time limit wins.
- For an alternative without flags, divide candy among the players. When a player is hit, they must drop any candy they are holding and return to base. Once one team has all the candy, it wins.
- Try a quick Defend the Fort game. The Defender team gets to choose a defensive position, often a play structure or an area of high ground with plenty of cover. If the Defender team survives for 10 minutes, it wins the game. If the Attacker team knocks all the Defenders out of the game before then, it wins.[9]
- Optionally, you can have a Defender leave the fort and become an Attacker once he is hit three times. This may be a good idea if the Fort is especially easy to defend.
- Play Hunter with just one Nerf gun. This is a simple game of tag played with a single Nerf gun. When someone is hit, they take the Nerf gun. The last person to avoid getting hit by a nerf dart wins.[10]
EditNerf Strategies and Tactics - Put someone on the team in charge of strategy. If you have a large team, picking one player to be the leader can make everything go much more smoothly during the game. The leader decides when to attack, set up an ambush, or retreat, but he should listen to input from the other players.
- You can switch the leader role between games, so everyone gets a chance at playing the leader.
- Use code words or gestures with team mates. Come up with a few simple code words or hand gestures with your team in advance, so you can talk about strategy without the other team catching on. Pick code words for "attack," "retreat," and "set up an ambush."
- Pick a weapon and choose tactics that go with it. If you have a long range weapon, you could pick a spot with cover and be a sniper for your team. A small, quiet weapon might be a good for a stealthy assassin. A fast-firing Nerf weapon with a large clip of ammunition is great for a straightforward assault, or to cover a team-mate's advance.
- If possible, bring a Nerf pistol as a secondary weapon for emergencies, or for situations in which you primary weapon isn't useful.
- Claim the high ground. Whenever possible, move to a hill, play structure, or other high-up area. You'll be able to see farther and shoot at longer range. Try to stay behind cover if possible, or you will also be a more visible target.
- Lure the enemy into a trap. Choose a location with plenty of cover, such as trees or walls. Pretend to flee from an enemy, then disappear behind cover, turn around, and shoot when the enemy runs after you. This is even more effective if you have teammates lying in wait.
- Keep wind in mind while firing. Unmodified Nerf darts are very light, and easily blown to one side by the wind. Avoid shooting into strong wind, and practice adjusting your aim to make up for breezes.[11]
- Hide ammunition refills. Keep stores of extra ammunition hidden in several caches around the area. Remember where these are so you can quickly retrieve extra Nerf darts when you run out.
- Bring plenty of darts. You'll end up losing more than you think.
- If you are using a clip system gun, make sure you have spare refill clips.
- Get a second gun in case of emergency.
- Try to stalk the other team and find their Medic, Leader, and Assassin. Keep the role of your own Medic secret. The other team will attempt to snipe and assassinate the Medic.
- Have everyone put their names on their darts and weapons.
- If you want, you can take someone on the other team captive as a trap. Sneak up behind and gently grab them.
- Give people the time to pick up their darts at the end. If you know a dart is not yours, don't take it. Stealing is never the answer to things.
- If you're the leader, be very wary. You need to be sneaky and ready for anything.
- Understand that you may lose some darts in the Nerf war. To prevent this, bring plenty of extras and be prepared to restock.
- Don't step on the darts. Instead, use a clip to push down the head of the dart and slide the next dart in.
- If you want maximum versatility whilst playing, try to find and buy customisation parts (upgrades). These could be scopes, grips, stocks, and barrels.
- Cover for your medic if he/she is recovering someone.
- Pretending to be out of the game (by raising your gun in the air) in order to ambush another player is usually considered bad Nerf war behavior, even if it is not specifically disallowed by the rules.
- If someone is yelling for help, it is a good idea to check it out or tell the host of the event.
- Ensure that every player has eye protection before the Nerf War starts. Getting hit in the eye will be painful.
- Make sure that you (or others if you are a host or are helping the host) are not messing with, engaging, or attacking bystanders (or players who are "out", if playing a game-mode where players can get "out") during your war if you are playing in somewhere like a public park.
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| How to Help a Drug Addict Posted: 20 Jan 2017 12:00 AM PST What if you want to help someone who is addicted to drugs, but you don't know how? There are many misconceptions about how to help a person who has an addiction. You cannot make a person conquer an addiction, and you can't do the work for him. Your focus will be on offering support in various and creative ways. In order to help a person with an addiction one must understand that addiction is complex. You cannot fix the person; and above all else a person with an addiction is a person first and not just a drug addict as the title of this article indicates. The person's battle with addiction will certainly be hard-fought, but your supportive action will positively contribute to the person's journey. EditShowing Support - Be the best friend you can be. Some friendships are brief and others last a lifetime. Helping a friend through a struggle such as drug addiction is one way to make a friendship stronger. As relationships build, you tend to care more about the person. When a crisis occurs, you naturally want to help him.
- Show up when he needs you and listen to what he has to say. There are reasons this person is abusing drugs. Listening may allow him to express thoughts and feelings that will eventually help him and you to understand the root cause of the addiction.[1]
- Be respectful, loyal and reliable. Expressing one's feelings is a brave thing to do, and it can feel risky as well. You can acknowledge this by saying, "I know this might be hard for you and I am honored you are sharing this information. I respect you for doing this. I'm here if you ever want to talk."
- Helping a person with a drug addiction may be the most difficult, time consuming thing you will ever do, but the most rewarding.
- Show empathy. Being listened to and understood are key components to personal growth.[2] The emotional experience of dealing with a drug addiction will force a person to grow, which may be painful. You can help ease the person's pain by actively listening.
- Put yourself in the person's shoes. Learn to be compassionate and accepting rather than judging the person.[3] It might be difficult to understand, but you can always try.
- Treat the person like you would like to be treated. You have probably experienced struggles in your life and know what was helpful to you, and what wasn't.
- Communicate your concern. It is hard to watch someone suffer or make poor decisions that negatively impact his life. At some point, you will have to tell the person you are concerned about his well-being. He may want to listen to what you have to say, but he may not. This is okay because you are being genuine and you are demonstrating that you care.
- Ask permission to get involved. If a person is in the throes of addiction he may not realize he needs help, but might be open to it. You can say things like, "It seems like you are struggling with this drug. I'm here for you if you want me to help. Would you be okay with that?"
- Don't be afraid to ask the tough questions. Confronting difficult subject matter that might jeopardize a relationship is challenging. You will need to ask direct, honest questions like, "Do you think you are addicted to this drug?" and "I know it might be hard to talk about this, but I have to know if you're willing to ruin your health, and your relationships because of it?"
EditUnderstanding Drug Dependency - Observe behavior. Know the signs and symptoms of drug dependency.[4] A radical change in personality may indicate an individual is abusing drugs. Personality changes are a common sign of all types of drug addiction, including alcoholism, a dependency on prescription drugs and opiate abuse.
- Signs of opiate addiction: needle marks may be evident on the arms of someone who is abusing opiates, although many addicts become skilled at hiding evidence of intravenous drug use by injecting the drugs in unseen areas, such as between the toes. A person who is abusing opiates may also appear unusually thirsty or sweaty, and their pupils may be small pinpoints.
- Signs of alcoholism: may frequently smell of alcohol, exhibit irritable behavior, slurred speech, unusually bright or glassy eyes and difficulty expressing thoughts and ideas in a logical manner. Alcoholics often try to hide the physical evidence of the addiction, including empty bottles and cans.
- Signs of prescription drug abuse: Individuals who suffer from a dependency on prescription drugs may exhibit signs of intoxication, including clumsiness, slurred speech and may appear droopy-eyed.
- Keep track of dates and times of conflicts and other occasions when drugs are a problem. If an issue happens more than a couple times, then you are likely seeing a pattern developing. It is difficult to predict if the pattern will escalate and deepen the severity of the problem. You want to be prepared.
- Perhaps he or she consumes excessive amounts of a substance and continually passes out at parties. Has he or she gotten cited for a DUI or cited for substance-driven vandalism charges? Does he or she get into substance-fueled fights?
- Identify the person's drug or drugs of choice. It is most common for a person with an addiction to be using multiple drugs.[5] This could be an obvious thing or a difficult thing to determine. If a person is secretly taking drugs, you may only see the signs and symptoms of abuse. When in doubt, you can always ask. Abused drugs include but are not limited to: amphetamines, anabolic steroids, club drugs, cocaine, heroin, inhalants, marijuana, and prescription drugs. [6]
- Different drugs may affect a person in different ways.
- There may be multiple drugs in a person's system, so it will be difficult to determine.
- In the event of an overdose or medical emergency you may be the one who must tell the medical personnel what type of drug or drugs were consumed so the proper treatment can be given.[7]
- Determine the level of the person's addiction. The goal would be to not wait until the person's behavior has spiraled so far out of control that relationships and situations cannot be repaired. Ideally, the person should seek help for addiction before consequences, such as job loss, abuse and neglect of loved ones and financial ruin occur.
- Ask him, "What attempts have been made by you to stop? Why do you think you weren't successful?"
- Does the person appear and sound motivated to make a change, but repeatedly struggles with sticking to his plan? Is the drug controlling the person?
- If he is your college buddy, or family friend call his family to let them know when things have gotten out of control. Don't face the problem alone.
EditTaking Action - Clarify if the person wants help. Basic human rights allow a person to ask for and accept help. Those same rights allow a person to reject the help he might need. This creates friction among everyone involved; and the more deteriorated the situation becomes, the more desperate you might feel.
- How involved do you want to be in the process? If you are reading this right now, you are probably invested in making a difference in a person's life.
- Plenty of people don't want to get involved in helping someone who is addicted to drugs, so bravo to you for wanting to get involved.
- Discuss and set boundaries. Healthy boundaries need to be discussed focusing on what is most helpful for the person with an addiction without being enabling. Behaviors that will enable a person with an addiction include but are not limited to: you ignore undesirable behavior; you lend the person money to buy drugs so he won't steal; you sacrifice your needs and desires to consistently help the person with an addiction; expressing your own emotions with difficulty; you lie to cover for the person with the addiction; you continue to provide help when it is unappreciated and unacknowledged.[8]
- Tell the person with an addiction that you will help him and support him and his efforts to manage his addiction, but you will not engage in anything that promotes his continued use of the addictive substance.
- Persuade the person to get help. All the signs are there that he needs help. Now, it's time for you to show him the realities of the situation. Sometimes you need to compassionately force a person to consider the consequences of not getting help.
- If you know he needs the help, but refuses, you can call the cops on the person to shock him into realizing he needs help. He doesn't have to know you called the police.
- Warn the person by saying, "Jail is a horrible, dangerous, and disgusting place where no one cares about you. You don't want to go there. You will lose yourself in there and you might never recover."
- Show the person statistics and videos about drug addiction overdoses and traffic deaths caused by people who drive while intoxicated.
- Do not flush drugs down the toilet because it will pollute the water system with dangerous substances that end up in the food supply.
- Hide the person's keys so he can't drive. Driving with a person who is in possession of a controlled substance will lead to everyone in the car being cited and likely arrested. This is a perfect example of when a person's drug addiction infringes upon other people's lives.
- Stage an intervention. Help comes in many forms, and must be forced sometimes. It is a hard decision to make, but one that is necessary if the addiction has spiraled out of control and the person's life is in danger.[9] While an intervention will likely be overwhelming to the person, the intent is not to put the person on the defensive. Those who will participate in the intervention should be carefully chosen. The person's loved ones can describe how the drug abuse is affecting them.
 - Prior to the intervention, develop at least one treatment plan to offer to the person. Make arrangements ahead of time if the person is going to be escorted to the drug treatment center directly from the intervention. The intervention will mean little if he does not know how to get help and does not have the support of loved ones.
- You will likely have to trick the person into coming to the location where the intervention is supposed to take place.
- Be prepared to offer specific consequences if the person rejects seeking treatment. These consequences must not be empty threats, so the person's loved ones should consider the consequences to be imposed if he does not seek treatment, and be willing to follow through.
- An intervention may also include the person's colleagues and religious representatives (if appropriate).
- Participants should prepare specific examples of how their loved one's drug abuse has hurt the relationship. Often, those staging an intervention choose to write letters to the person. A person with an addiction may not care about their own self-destructive behaviors, but seeing the pain his actions inflict on others can be a powerful motivator for seeking help.
- Suggest a drug rehabilitation program. Contact several rehabilitation clinics and inquire about their services.[10] Don't be afraid to ask specific questions about their daily schedules and how the center handles relapses. If an intervention is not necessary, assist the person in researching both the addiction and recommended drug treatment plans. Be supportive and allow the person to feel in control of the impending rehabilitation.
- Tour the suggested programs and keep in mind that the more receptive the person with the addiction is of the treatment plan, the better the chances of overcoming the addiction.
- Visit when appropriate. If the person is admitted into an in-patient treatment program, there will be rules for visitation that will need to be clarified. Understand that you need to allow the person to participate on his own without influence from anyone on the outside. The rehab staff will inform you when to visit, and the visit will likely be deeply appreciated.
EditFollowing Up - Accept the person back into your life. A person who has overcome a drug addiction will need structure in his life. You can be a big part of making that happen. A welcoming attitude might be exactly what the person needs. Every person has a need to feel a sense of belonging, and you can foster that for the person.[11]
- Encourage and suggest the potential freedoms of new, healthier lifestyles. Invite the person to go with you on new adventures. Be mindful not to pursue those things that might increase the urge to partake in drugs.
- The goal is to help the person not feel alone and to assure him that he can reach out to you and others when needed. He is going to be nervous, afraid and uncertain of his ability to stay sober.
- Ask the person about his progress. Make it clear that you are genuinely concerned for the person and want him to be successful. It is important that he attend therapy or support group meetings. These are likely to be a requirement of any rehabilitation program.
- Help the person be accountable to his program. Ask him if there is anything you can do to help him stay committed to attending. Don't let him slack off.
- Offer to attend meetings with him if you both are comfortable with the idea.
- Always celebrate accomplishments. If a person is sober for one day or 1000 days, each day deserves a celebration.[12]
- Be resourceful if the person needs your help in the future. Drug addiction is a chronic disease, therefore it can be managed, but not cured. Relapses will most likely happen, and everyone involved should not consider a relapse a failure. However, treatment will be needed following each relapse.
- Once you go through the process of helping a person with an addiction, you will have the know-how and information necessary to help. Psychologists and psychiatrists are available in your local area and can be located through the American Psychological Association [13] and the American Psychiatric Association.[14].
- Be there for the person (text, call, see him, do fun activities, play sports, hang out, and support the person's hobbies and interests). Help the person conquer the temptation to use drugs if a particularly difficult situation presents itself.
- Remain positive in your interactions with the person; but be direct and honest and serious when necessary. He needs to know that there will be people to support him on the road to recovery, and that includes you.
- Addiction is a physical, mental, and spiritual disease. Attention needs to be given to all three (in this order) while overcoming/meeting the disease head on.
- Don't give up on the person. Most likely the person with the addiction will feel abandoned by loved ones, and feel alone in the world.
- Show this person you are not going anywhere, even when he relapses.
- Continue to express your love and care for the person and the benefits of a clean future.
- There may be times when you cannot help a person overcome his drug addiction.
- If you suspect the person has had an overdose call 911 for emergency assistance.
- A person may appear to function for years even though he has a drug addiction. It will eventually catch up to him in some way either physically, emotionally or to the detriment of his relationships.
- Severe drug addiction can result in a person committing crimes that are focused at getting money for drugs. You may be the victim.
- If violence occurs, remove yourself from the situation and call the authorities.
- In the event of an overdose, be prepared to provide information on the drugs the person has taken.
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