Substance use is a problem that can become very powerful very quickly. It can cause a variety of health issues in a person’s life. As these addictions grow, it can be easy to suffer problems with the different types of relationships in your life. As a result, it is critical to know how substance use harms relationships and what you can do to repair the damage. Read on to learn about how you can fix your relationships and get help for your addiction.
How Substance Use Harms Relationships
Drug and alcohol addiction has a way of becoming more critical to a person than their romances, friendships, and family members. This may be hard for those without an addiction to understand. However, a drug takes over a person’s body and mind and forces them to abuse. In order to understand how substance use harms relationships, take a look at some examples:
- Early abuse – A person may start taking drugs against their partner’s wishes. This can cause a small rift that may worsen in time if their addiction intensifies at all
- Increasing abuse – As a person starts abusing more drugs, their romantic partners, friends, and family members will grow more concerned and may even step back further from them
- Addiction – When a person becomes addicted to drugs, they are likely to focus on taking them, such as spending all their money and time abusing substances, rather than nurturing their relationships
- Separation – As an individual’s addiction worsens, loved ones start separating from them to protect themselves, isolating and alienating a painful part of their life
As these problems worsen, relationships will be strained to the breaking point. Many may give up on their loved ones completely during this time, which can put them in a hazardous situation. As a result, it is essential to do what you can to mend these relationships when you are in rehab. Doing so, particularly in a rehab-based environment, could save lives and transform you into a better individual. It is important to understand and recognize that addiction does cause harm to relationships. In rehab, it is not only important to overcome your addiction but to fix the relationships that were separated by drug and alcohol abuse.
Can You Save These Relationships?
Now that you understand how substance use harms relationships, you may have an idea of how yours has been impacted. This situation is often a tough one that can feel nearly impossible to escape from. As a result, it is often necessary to take the time to address this process in drug rehab. Doing so is a smart choice because it provides a variety of unique benefits that help people recover.
For example, focused family and relationship therapy help a person with addiction see what they did to injure their loved ones. Just as importantly, their loved ones can see what they may have done to worsen the situation. By working together, it is possible to get over this danger together and to help a loved one walk away from addiction and into a support group that has their best needs in mind. Having the support of loved ones is crucial in the road to recovery, so it will be essential to repair these relationships in rehab.
Getting Through Rehab as a Family
If you want to know more about how substance use harms relationships, please call 866.262.0531 right away to learn more. Our experts at Crestview Recovery fully understand this problem and can help you overcome addiction in many unique ways. Whether you want outpatient, aftercare, partial hospitalization, or extended care, we have you covered. Verify your insurance to get started.
Since 2016, Dr. Merle Williamson, a graduate of Oregon Health Sciences University, has been the Medical Director at Crestview Recovery, bringing a rich background in addiction medicine from his time at Hazelden Treatment Center. He oversees outpatient drug and alcohol treatments, providing medical care, setting policies, detox protocols, and quality assurance measures. Before specializing in addiction medicine, he spent 25 years in anesthesiology, serving as Chair of Hospital Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee and Chief of Anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente. This experience gives him a unique perspective on treating prescription drug addiction.
