Parenting is filled with many challenges. Over the years, you might have expected to help your daughter through some rough patches, but you might not have expected this. Drug and alcohol addiction takes a heavy toll on people, and it is possible that your daughter has reached the point of being unable to make her own rational decisions about treatment. When you catch yourself asking how you can get help for your daughter when she doesn’t care if she lives or dies, you know that you need to take fast action. Your daughter might have given up on herself, but you don’t have to. Trying to help someone who doesn’t see a reason to seek treatment is hard.
You might worry about making your daughter mad when you bring up the need for help. Or, you might feel like your last attempt to get her help was a failure. People often take several attempts at getting sober before they find the right method that works for them. Helping your daughter get into an effective treatment program gives her access to support that can renew her desire to live again.
Understand How Addiction Impacts Your Daughter’s Mental Health
One of the worst parts of substance misuse is that the chemicals your daughter puts into her body can have lasting effects on her brain. If your daughter already struggled with depression, then using substances such as opiates or alcohol can exacerbate her symptoms. Your daughter might also experience suicidal thoughts if she feels like there is no other way to escape the hold that addiction has over her life. Going to a professional treatment center is often the only possible way for someone to learn how to deal with what addiction is doing to their mindset. Your daughter cannot think rationally while drugs are flowing through her brain. If she can’t see that she needs help on her own, then you have several choices to help make sure that she gets sober long enough to begin the process of healing.
Consider Hosting an Intervention
Some families find that an addiction intervention helps to show their loved one how much people care about whether they live or die. Your daughter might need to see that no one is giving up on her. You can host an intervention by inviting the sober people in her life to gather and talk to her about the need for help. Keep in mind that an intervention needs to stay as positive as possible for someone who is already losing the desire to live. Your group may need to describe how your daughter’s addiction affects them, but it is best to focus on giving her hope for the future. Create a list of ways that she can get support, such as attending a treatment program, so that you can wind up the intervention on a positive note.
Explore Legal Options for Mandatory Treatment
The Marchman Act is a Florida statute that is designed to make sure that everyone has access to addiction treatment services, even when they think that they don’t need help. While some people think that this statute only applies to Florida residents, it helps to know that people who live outside of the state can be helped by court-ordered treatment here. Since many states do not have anything like the Marchman Act, it is common for families to bring their loved ones to Florida for a temporary stay that can change their life. Your daughter might be eligible to receive required addiction treatment under this Act if any of the following situations apply.
- they no longer have any self-control over their drug and alcohol abuse
- they have threatened or implied that they could do physical harm to themselves or someone else
- they lack the ability to make rational decisions about addiction treatment due to substance abuse impairment
The decision to seek legally required treatment for your daughter is not one to take lightly. You might fear that doing this could make her so mad that she’ll never talk to you again, but this might be your only choice to help your daughter find her will to live. The Marchman Act only applies to the most serious situations. If a court finds your concerns valid, then you can rest assured that you’ve made the right decision.
When addiction has a strong hold on someone, forcing them to stop using their drugs of choice gives them the opportunity to begin to see what their habits are doing to their mind and body. Recovery for someone in this position might be slow, but it is possible for your daughter to regain her mental health with the help of professional addiction counselors. Watching your daughter become a shell of her former self is hard, but you do have hope for the future. Get help from one of our counselors now at 844-639-8371. Your daughter’s health and happiness depends on it.