Warriors Heart urges Families to seek Addiction Treatment this Holiday Season as Moments of Willingness Open

To help families facing addiction this holiday, Warriors Heart identifies 5 Warning Signs and 5 Action Steps for families to help loved ones get treatment now.

SAN ANTONIO, TX, UNITED STATES, November 20, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- To help families struggling with drug and/or alcohol addiction this holiday season, Warriors Heart urges loved ones to seek addiction treatment now versus waiting until January. Addiction is a family disease, and everyone can learn from Warriors Heart’s 5 Substance Abuse Warning Signs and 5 Ways Loved Ones can ‘hold the line’ with love and clarity during the holidays.

As the first private and accredited treatment center in the U.S., Warriors Heart exclusively helps warriors (military, veterans and first responders) struggling with addiction, PTSD, depression, anxiety, trauma and co-occurring issues. The holiday season can be an especially hard time to go to addiction treatment, as families often want to “hold it together” until the start of the new year, but addiction doesn’t pause for the holidays and can often deepen the crisis.

Based on first-hand experience, Warriors Heart CEO/Founder Josh Lannon emphasizes, “Don’t wait until after the holidays if you or a loved one needs help, because moments of willingness open and close quickly, so take action when the window is open.”

Warriors Heart Co-Founders Josh and Lisa Lannon know how challenging the holiday season can be for families based on personal experience. During Thanksgiving weekend in 2001, the strain of trying to celebrate while managing Josh’s drinking became unbearable. On the Sunday after Thanksgiving, Lisa finally said what many families are afraid to say to loved ones, “I’m done, you either go to rehab tonight, or I’m divorcing you.”

That night, the Lannon’s drove from Las Vegas to a treatment center in Laguna Beach, California. Josh was finally ready to enter treatment to save the marriage. Instead of “ruining the holidays,” treatment brought the Lannons relief, clarity, and direction - the first real breath the couple had taken in years.

To help others, Warriors Heart shares the top 5 warning signs to look for during the holidays. The season doesn’t create addiction – it often exposes what’s already unsustainable. If a loved one shows two or more of these signs, it’s rarely holiday stress, it’s a call for action.

Top 5 Substance Abuse Warning Signs Families see during the Holidays
1. Must drink or use during gatherings (ask them not to and see what happens).
2. Pulling away, isolating, or avoiding family events.
3. Irritability, anger, or emotional unpredictability.
4. Showing up intoxicated, smelling like alcohol, or unable to participate.
5. Recurring crises: arguments, disappearances, or unsafe behavior.

Families often try to protect the holiday celebrations instead of protecting the future. To protect your holiday season, Warriors Heart recommends shifting the focus back to safety and healing through:

5 Ways Loved Ones can ‘Hold the Line’ with Love and Clarity

1. Name What You’re Seeing - Be calm, compassionate, and direct by saying things such as “I love you, and I will not love you to death. I am going to fight for your life.”
2. Set Clear Boundaries for Holiday Event – Do not allow substances at gatherings. Do not allow anyone to attend if intoxicated. Or create an agreement by telling loved ones as; “If you’re drinking and/or drugging continues, you will go to treatment immediately.”
3. Refuse to Keep the Secret - Addiction grows in silence. Integrity and honesty save lives. Talk to someone or call the person’s “battle buddy” that you trust.
4. Have a Plan Ready - Identify a treatment program, know the admission steps, and be ready to move today. Have a plan for when your loved one says yes.
5. Lead With Love, Not Fear – To help loved ones struggling with addiction over the holidays, make sure the message isn’t about punishment. Instead, convey a message that conveys genuine compassion such as “I love you too much to wait.”

The most loving decision anyone can make is to take action. Every year, millions of families say, “We’ll get through the holidays first. January will be a fresh start.”

Josh Lannon emphasizes, “The real change begins when someone says; ‘Enough is enough. Let’s go to treatment now’.”

Warriors Heart emphasizes that treatment during the holidays isn’t the end of the season. It’s often the beginning of healing, safety, and direction. If this holiday season feels heavy, Warriors Heart encourages loved ones to take action while the window of willingness is open. The most loving gift anyone can give—and receive—is a safe path forward. Don’t wait. Get help now.

After going to treatment over the holidays, the Lannons opened treatment centers in Arizona and Utah, and later started Warriors Heart in 2016, with U.S. Army Veteran and CoFounder Tom Spooner and Tom’s wife, Laurie Spooner.

ABOUT: WARRIORS HEART (Bandera, Texas near San Antonio and Milford, Virginia, near Richmond and Washington D.C.) is the first and only private and accredited treatment program in the U.S. exclusively for “warriors” (active duty military, veterans, first responders and EMTs/paramedics) faced with the self-medicating struggles of alcohol addiction, prescription and drug addiction, PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), mild TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) and other co-occurring issues in a private, 100-bed facility on a 543-acre ranch in Bandera, Texas and 60-bed facility in Milford, Virginia. Along with a minimum 42-day peer-to-peer residential treatment program, Warriors Heart offers a full continuum of care with the option of Detox, Residential Treatment (inpatient), Day Treatment, Outpatient (IOP), Sober Living, TMS (brain treatment) and Aftercare. Warrior Heart is accredited by the Joint Commission, and is a member of the NAATP (National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers). As a “Preferred In-Network Community Care Provider”, Warriors Heart accepts TRICARE and most insurance. Warriors Heart’s work has been featured on the TODAY Show, CBS Health Watch, A&E Intervention, CNN, National Defense Radio Show, NPR, Shawn Ryan Show, Dr. Drew Midday Live, and in FOXNews, TIME, Forbes, Addiction Pro magazine, Stars and Stripes, Task & Purpose, Military Families Magazine and many more. Warriors Heart’s 24-hr hotline is 866-955-4035, and is answered by warriors. For more information, visit https://warriorsheart.com/connect

Liz H Kelly
Goody PR
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