It is normal to want to protect and help someone you care about. However, these care-taking behaviors interfere with your loved one's chance to experience the negative consequences of using. Enabling can encourage alcohol and drug misuse. By not enabling, you are helping your loved one move closer toward recovery.

Enabling may feel more comfortable in the short term. However, it can prolong the long term problem of substance use.

Here is a common saying: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results.”

You have a choice. If you want things to change you can do things differently. It is important to realize that you have choices. We have talked about a lot of changes in this section. CRAFT encourages you to consider the changes listed in the chart to the right.

You Have a Choice
Instead of:	Do this:
Yelling at your loved one when he or she is drunk…	Ignore them
Overlooking your loved one's positive behaviors…	Verbally thank them or say something nice
Enabling your loved one by rescuing them…	Allow them to experience the consequences of their actions