Care Of Addicts

Caring for addicts can be a great challenge on several levels,  from community, to family, to oneself as an individual. Today we will focus on these people who help emd care for the people who need them most.

What exactly does it mean to “care for a person”? What types of caregivers are there?

There is an important difference to begin with: Formal and informal care. A formal caregiver is a person with a paid position  and experience in sociosanitary care and nursing. Informal caregivers are typically a person’s family members, friends, or in some cases neighbors.

The psychologist, Rogero, defines informal care as “caring and giving attention primarily to family and friends and to each other, who will voluntarily give their time to help a person with a high degree of dependence or powerlessness.”

According to the World Health Organization (1999)  , long-term care tends to be something performed by informal caregivers (family, friends, and neighbors), professional caregivers, or both. The goal is always that the person should have the best quality of life by treating them as individuals and maintaining their autonomy and dignity.

Why is caring for addicts so important?

Caring for addicts helps them perform daily activities

When you think of a caregiver, this is probably one of the first things that come to mind. Caring for addicts is often about helping them perform basic tasks such as eating, going to the bathroom, taking a shower and getting dressed.

Many caregivers  thus make personalized care and nursing plans based on the needs of a specific person. The degree of their dependence, and other personal circumstances, can change the work and tasks of the caregiver.

They create an atmosphere built on trust

Trust is the sense of security  you have for another person, especially around how they will react in certain situations. That means being sure of what they want to do. An addicted person thus feels that they trust that the caregiver will give them a sense of peace. It is an important part of giving them the best possible care to help their family.

A good caregiver creates a sense of trust and security,  both for the person receiving the care and for the person’s family (or the rest of the family, in the case of informal caregivers). They should be able to think things like “My father or mother is in good hands” or “If something happens, they will discover it right away and do something”.

Caring for addicts provides support and love

A caregiver provides  companionship and emotional support  to the person they are caring for. Work takes up a large portion of our time, so having someone to look after them can keep addicted people from feeling lonely while their loved ones are not there. In many cases, caring means offering company to addicts when their family cannot.

They give autonomy

Even though we are talking about addicts,  care can still do a lot in terms of giving them a sense of autonomy by helping them perform daily activities.

A caregiver will encourage and motivate them to do the things they are capable of. Of course, they will also understand that it can require a great deal of effort for the person to be able to do so.

They help them stay connected to the outside world

Depending on the degree of their dependence,  a caregiver can help individuals maintain their relationships with people outside their family. This is important because it helps them  avoid feeling lonely.

Thanks to certain new technologies, caregivers can keep them active in their homes, help them take part in certain activities, and interact with their family, friends, and neighbors.

Caring for addicts improves their quality of life

Last but not least,  we want to go back to how caring for addicts can help maintain their dignity and sense of self by giving them autonomy. Nurses perform necessary work day in and day out. But our society does not always recognize the importance of the work they do.

That is why we wanted to dedicate this article to how important care is. It does not matter what it is a job or as a family member. Nurses become support poles for the people who need their help. They improve the quality of life for everyone close to their patients.