Help On How Personal Addiction Affects Relationships

Addiction can unapologetically take over and destroy everything in a person's life

Relationships with friends and loved ones, as well as basic everyday interactions with others. Specific connections can be more dynamic for some people coping with addiction, with others playing cause-and-effect roles. This makes stopping the cycle of addiction extremely difficult, as it affects everyone around the addict, including those who love them. When drugs seize control of the brain's primary pleasure center, relationships frequently suffer. 

Lies and deception Impacts

The amount of secrecy involved in their everyday life is one of the most common problems individuals have with a loved one who is addicted to drugs. When a loved one begins to focus their lives around drug use, they may be unaware of how far they have devolved. When and if they discover how terrible their drug usage has become, they will quickly revert to sentiments of shame and guilt. People become exceedingly secretive about their actions and the whole state of being as a result of this. Little falsehoods that appear innocuous begin to grow into larger deceptions, often leading to a person living a double life to conceal their drug use. Fear of judgment is the most powerful motivator for some of this conduct. Some people will begin to separate themselves from those who know them best in order to cover up their falsehoods and out-of-control addiction. 

Common falsehoods begin with basic things like lying about who they are hanging out with, where they are going, where their money is going, why objects in the house are disappearing, and other concerns regarding their strange actions. This generally happens when someone's drug abuse develops into an addiction, which soon begins to undermine their intrapersonal connections. 

Trust is Lost in the Relationship

Loss of trust is a normal effect of coping with someone's repeated falsehoods. Deception, secrecy, and inexplicable distance from someone who may be suffering from addiction may swiftly erode trust in a partnership. These concerns are frequently felt with issues such as loss of respect, resentment, and betrayal. When these sentiments are allowed to develop, they can begin to undermine a relationship from the inside. Addiction may do the most harm to romantic relationships due to distrust, especially when concerns of jealousy, possessiveness, and fear are not treated successfully. 

Persons who are addicted frequently lack the energy or motivation to invest in relationships or people who are unrelated to their drug usage. Many significant others are pushed aside in favor of drugs and the individuals their addicted loved one spends time with while using. Trust is a crucial component of every relationship, romantic or otherwise. When trust is gone, it is difficult for someone suffering from an addiction to continue relationships without getting help. 

Abuse and also Violence in families

Domestic violence is a particularly painful impact of addiction on relationships. Much misdirected anger and building resentment in a drug-related relationship can boil up and erupt violently, with possibly lethal results. Small conflicts can swiftly escalate into excessive wrath if someone is taking drugs that might trigger violent behavior. Those who live with persons who are addicted to drugs, which can lead to highly erratic behavior, are at a high risk of victimization, as are any other family members or children. In turn, the individual in the relationship who is not taking drugs may demonstrate aggression. They are upset at the addict for their sickness and are expressing their rage in abusive ways. Both circumstances are sadly widespread and are not always effectively addressed, causing many people to suffer in silence out of shame and fear. 

Relationship Enabling instead of support 

When someone loves or cares for someone who has an addiction, their feelings might impair their judgment. It is fairly unusual for loved ones to attempt to "assist" the addict in ways that enable the addict to continue taking drugs. Typical enabling behaviors include taking on the obligations and sentiments of a loved one suffering from an addiction, striving to minimize negative consequences for the person suffering from addiction, accepting responsibility for someone else's addiction, and making excuses for poor behavior. Financial enabling is another common method that people may believe they are helping when they are harming someone who is unable to manage their drug use. A loved one may believe that their money would be spent on food, self-care, or other necessities such as transportation, whereas in fact, someone in the grip of addiction may use cash for drugs first and foremost. It may be tough for everyone concerned to walk the delicate line between helping and harming. 

Those seeking therapy are frequently enrolled in counseling, which may include family members, spouses, significant others, and close friends. Repairing dysfunctional behaviors and habits caused by addiction can be tough, but with the skills offered and taught in treatment, the recovery process can be a wonderful time of healing for all those whose relationships have been touched by addiction.

If you're struggling with addiction, or in a relationship affected by addiction free to reach out to Rock Bottom Hope. We are always here to help.