You realize your adult child with a cocaine addiction is just getting worse as time goes by. You may have been trying to help by giving him money and paying his bills, but that only enabled him to continue in his addiction. And things are not improving, they are only getting worse. Now you want to know how to deal with a drug addict son. The days of enabling him and making excuses for his behavior are over. How to deal with a drug addict son means that things have to change and change will begin with you.

This advice is for parents of addicted adults who need guidance. How to deal with an adult child with cocaine addiction will take courage and endurance, especially during times of stress and emotional meltdowns. Here is how to deal with a drug addict son or daughter:

1. The first thing you must do is stop giving your child money, paying his bills, and allowing him to be dependent on you for support. All enabling support has to stop and you can tell your child that the only support you will give him is when he decides to commit to a comprehensive drug treatment program for 90 days or more.

2. Some parents of addicted adults believe that an addict can never recover from his addiction, but that is not true. After removing drugs from the body, recovering addicts should receive psychological and behavioral therapies to identify the reasons why they use drugs and resolve these issues. They also learn how to prevent a relapse by developing enhanced coping strategies.

3. How to deal with a drug addict son also means discussing his future with him. If he is despondent then he needs counseling and therapy, and perhaps medication. But once he is able to think clearly, he can begin to plan a good future for himself. After rehab he should remain in counseling and support groups for socialization and support, but he can begin to live a great life of his own making. He needs encouragement to believe in himself and his own abilities.

4. Parents of addicted adults must stop blaming themselves for their child's problem. Whether you were a direct cause of his addiction or not, blame is not going to help anyone build a positive future. Let blame and guilt go, and start focusing on positive change.

5. Begin to take care of yourself and the other members of your family. How to deal with a drug addict son also means not letting his addiction rule your life. Begin to live your life as best you can and nourish your body, mind and spirit.

6. You might be thinking, "What does all this have to do with me, my adult child has a cocaine addiction?" If you have an adult child with cocaine addiction you need to apply the same rules as above, but you also have to realize the dangerous changes that cocaine causes. Cocaine can adversely affect your child's mental state and he may undergo extreme personality changes, become severely depressed, and also become violent. When this occurs, you are no longer dealing with your child, but you are dealing with an addiction that could put you in danger. An adult child with cocaine addiction may no longer be able to think clearly and he may harm you. You will not want him in your home, or to engage him in an argument where he can become violent.

My adult child has a cocaine addiction, what can I do? The best way to mediate positive change is to hire a professional interventionist to try to convince your child to get help. An intervention would include you, other family members, the interventionist and your adult child with cocaine addiction.