Communicating about addiction is very difficult. When it comes to telling your boss that you have a drug or alcohol problem it can be downright terrifying; however, being honest about your condition is an important step in getting the help you need to get clean.
You may fear reprisals at work if you reveal the truth, but the vast majority of bosses want to know how best to help their employees. Healthy workers make for a healthy business. It might not feel that way to you, though, and you may not have one of those bosses. The discussion needs to happen, and we can help you manage it.
Strategies for Talking about Addiction with Your Boss
The most important part of communicating clearly about addiction is making sure you understand the facts yourself. This is where counseling can be extremely helpful. In some cases addiction counselors can actually be brought into the conversation with your boss to help you explain your situation. They know how to keep the conversation on subject, and they know the legal requirements your boss is under to allow you treatment.
Your plan of action may look something like this:
- Get some personal counseling and advice right away
- Do research to understand your addiction
- Develop a plan for getting and staying clean
- Understand everything that is involved in treatment
- Check into rehab
You can get help with any and all of these areas from our helpline.
How Addiction Works
Though addiction is a well known problem in today’s society, there is still a mountain of misinformation out there about how addiction happens, how it works and how it is most effectively treated. Many people, including many addicts, still see addiction as a simple matter of personal weakness. The truth is that addiction is both a physical and a psychological disease. Your body needs whatever substance you are addicted to in order to function normally. Detox will bring potentially severe – even dangerous – withdrawal symptoms. Once this process is completed, however, the actual recovery is only beginning.
The real power of addiction lies in its ability to control addicts in more powerful ways than rational thoughts can. Neural pathways in the brain are chemically re-wired around the disease and addicts will require careful, professional treatment in order to correct those pathways. Without this kind of holistic rehab, lasting recovery is unlikely. Most employers understand this and welcome the opportunity to allow their employees to get the help they need. This is good, because most states require that employers do just that.