He doesn’t want treatment — so there’s no way to help?

Who really seeks help

The broadcast is dedicated to the support line for families that Viacheslav opened together with the host, Mikhail. The first thing he notes: it’s mostly relatives who reach out, not the people with addiction themselves. When there is addiction in a family, it’s the whole family’s misfortune: the parents don’t know where to go or what to do, while the person lives who knows where, uses and doesn’t want to change anything.

Hence the hopelessness. Many services give the same answer: “If he doesn’t want treatment, there’s nothing we can do.” But the family can still do a lot — if it knows how to act.

Why he doesn’t see the problem

A person in addiction lives not in the real world but in an invented one. The substance gives a feeling of omnipotence: it seems everything is under control and nothing will happen to you. That’s exactly why people die of overdoses — they simply don’t think it could happen to them.

Viacheslav compares this to good swimmers: it’s not those who can’t swim who drown, but those who are sure they won’t. The person who “just drinks on weekends” reasons the same way — until the problem knocks on the door. Today the market itself adds to this: most drugs are chemical, and they cause irreversible damage to the nervous system.

Why the family is the key to change

Motivating a person who lives in his own “picture of the world” is very hard. That’s why, according to Viacheslav, the relatives are the fundamental factor. When the family is “fully equipped” — knows what to do, how to behave, which words to use — there’s a chance to nudge the person toward at least the first steps.

Such a moment will definitely come: he will need something from his parents and will send a message. And a parent who knows in advance where to direct him can simply forward him a contact. One call can change a life — for example, bring the person to detox at the very moment he’s ready for it.

Who can get through to him

The best motivator is someone who has been through it himself: “I was just like you, I know that high, and here’s what happened to me.” Parents often don’t speak the same language as their children with addiction — even when they speak Russian. But someone who was once “in the same picture” knows what to talk about, and it’s easier to believe him.

Viacheslav adds: it’s not only about language, but about being understood. People from the same culture also understand the parents — their shame, their fear, their wish not to “wash their dirty linen in public.”

Don’t stay silent

Many parents are embarrassed and pretend nothing is happening — and in doing so make things worse. Viacheslav speaks to them directly: there’s nothing to be ashamed of; you can ask for advice anonymously, under any name. Knowing what to do, where to turn and how to act in an emergency is a kind of antidote: it can save a life.