How Does Drug Addiction Affect Relationships?
/
There’s a lot of discussion about the psychological and physical impacts of drug addiction, like depression, fatigue, and severe withdrawal symptoms. But the relational impacts are not as commonly talked about. The truth is, there’s a real social cost to drug addiction, both for the person who is addicted as well as for those they consider loved ones. Learn more about how drug addiction affects relationships.
Magnolia Recovery is a safe, temptation-free environment outside of Charleston, SC for women to work through the 12-steps. Contact us to learn more.
What is Addiction?
Addiction is when a person needs more and more of a substance to feel the same effects. Dopamine receptors in the brain become accustomed to large amounts of a substance that produces endorphins, so these receptors need more and more just to be able to function normally. Addiction can interfere with a person’s physical health, financial situation, and, as it pertains to this article, social life and relationships.
Secrecy and Lying
For those facing drug addiction, living a secret life is not uncommon. Addicts are rarely forthcoming with family and friends about where they spend their time, who they spend time with, what they do, and what they’re spending money on. This may be done out of fear, shame, judgment, or just wanting to continue to feed the habit. But lies on top of more lies in order to cover up their addiction or related poor behavior only serve to seriously damage relationships with family and friends.
Trust
Drug addictions unsurprisingly lead to trust issues between the addicted and the addict’s family and friends. Loved ones naturally and rightfully stop trusting someone whose life is shrouded in secrecy. Open communication, honesty, and respect are keys to any healthy relationship, and drug addiction makes each one of these impossible. It also becomes a problem when trust is repeatedly broken over legal or money troubles that arise from a person’s drug addiction. This is why drug addictions are particularly damaging to marriages.
Violence & Anger
Not all drug addicts are violent, but some substances like alcohol, meth, and cocaine can make an addict more irritable, angry, or violent in general. This often becomes more prevalent the more addicted one becomes and the more fractured a relationship gets. This places the family member or friend in danger and is the source of many cases of domestic abuse. Unfortunately, spouses and children are often the victims of this sort of violence.
Manipulation and Enabling
Manipulation and enabling are more subtle ways that relationships can be affected by drug addiction. Drug addiction may fracture a relationship, so the addict manipulates the loved one in order to continue their addiction, avoid confrontation, or keep the person from leaving.
The loved one also may enable the addict a few different ways:
By covering for them
Helping them obtain whatever substance they’re abusing
Allowing the behavior to continue because of confusion or being unsure of what to do
Avoiding confrontation to maintain an appearance of normalcy
Healing of Relationships is Possible
Though drug addictions affect relationships very negatively, no relationship is beyond repair. Healing is possible at places like Magnolia Recovery. We offer women facing addiction a safe, temptation-free environment to work through our 12-step immersion program. Pursuing healing is the first step to repairing relationships fractured by addiction, so contact us today to get the help you need.