How Addiction is Affecting Families?
Addiction is not a one-way street, it is a family disease. When a person compulsively uses drugs or alcohol, their behavior goes out of control. The negative behaviors—of which there are many—carry outward in a capacity that heavily, and often tragically, affects their loved ones. It can be extremely hard to be in this role, as a friend or family member of a person who is addicted. The unfortunate truth is, due to the fact that most addicted individuals are heavily steeped in denial, people who use often do not understand the full impact of their actions on themselves, let alone the ways they affect those they love.
Let’s see how Addiction and Substance Abuse can affect the entire family.
Addiction’s Impact on Spouses
Research shows one of addiction’s most significant impacts is bad relationships in marriage. The addicted person spends money on their addictions; this changes the partner into a codependent.
When it comes to addiction, codependency includes being the victim of mental or physical abuse and willingly giving money for substance use.
Addiction’s Impact on Children
Children feel addiction’s effect throughout their whole lives. Babies whose mothers drank alcohol while pregnant might be born underweight or premature. They might suffer from fetal alcohol syndrome. Adolescents run a higher risk of developing dependency themselves from the very beginning, suffering from learning disabilities and blaming themselves for familial problems.
Children may also take the responsibilities of the adult if their parents cannot function because of their addiction and action. It causes children to grow up too fast and sometimes they may drop out of school or be more isolated.
Addiction’s Impact on Family Members
A significant indication of substance abuse and addiction is that an individual tries to go away from their family and is no longer seen interested in regular activities. He or she starts living in isolation. This removal can be very hurtful for all members, as quite quickly, they lose their loved one, wife, or mother.
Also, addiction fuels emotional battles and gives negative ways of thinking.
It leaves an addict with a few desperate options:
(1) they can lose their regular job or business, (2) they can try to steal the money, or (3) they can take the money saved for other things like bills, child’s education to fund their addiction. Doing any of these can create a significant financial crisis in the family. The family sometimes can lose their utilities, home, or car in such a financial crisis.
Finally, divorce is a common effect among families intertwined with addiction. Addiction creates seriously high levels of issues in a relationship; a couple typically cannot navigate the harmful environment formed by the habit which results in divorce.
Finding Help
The ultimate act of love is to help your loved one overcome the addiction. This isn’t very easy for even the most trusted family members, but there are help and treatments available that can take to ease this process. Find the best ways to approach the initial conversation or consult the local therapists who are trained in addiction. You can also consider contacting the rehab clinics near you.
Ignoring a family member’s addiction opens the possibility of tearing your family apart. However, helping and overcoming the addiction opens the potential of your family becoming stronger and closer than ever.
Call us now – 833-422-5585or For more information enquire us