Addiction is a disease, not a moral failing. It’s not your fault when you’re addicted to drugs, and it’s not your fault when your addiction ruins relationships. Addiction is an equal opportunity destroyer; it can affect anyone. The problem with addiction is that people often focus on the person who has the addiction but don’t realize that their relationship may also be affected. This type of selfishness only makes the situation worse for everyone involved. But worse than that, it makes it so much more likely for the addict to relapse, since they feel like no one cares about them or what they do. Find out more about the tips explaining how addiction affects relationships.
Deception and Lies
When a person is struggling with addiction, they’re often looking to make things easier for themselves. They’ll lie and steal to keep from dealing with their pain. Also, they’ll feel guilty for lying and promise never to do it again, but their lie keeps them from seeking help or checking in with their loved ones. They don’t tell you because they don’t want you to know they’re hurting. But they need to see the help they need and want help to get back on track. If someone is, in addition, it’s tough to determine whether they’re lying to you about something or just not making the time to call you. That they’ve even reached out to you is a good sign.
Loss of Trust
When you’re addicted to drugs, you are all too likely to begin lying, stealing, and cheating to get what you need. You can no longer trust your partner. It’s hard to trust anyone at this point because they all appear to be out to take advantage of you. The natural response is to blame the addict, so when you no longer trust your partner, that’s what you do.
The impact of behavior on a relationship is substantial. Trust, confidence, and respect become diluted. Eventually, you can’t trust your partner enough to be truly honest with them, or they become too scared to talk to you for fear of losing you. They find themselves trapped in an unhealthy and unhealthy cycle.
You Push Those You Love Away
Treating your loved ones with kindness and gentleness is an important part of taking care of yourself when you’re depressed or under emotional duress. But there’s a good chance you’re depressed or under emotional duress because you’ve been neglecting your loved ones. When your addiction interferes with your ability to form relationships, it’s likely your relationships will suffer. But when you’re sober, be the type of partner and friend who puts yourself out there. Spend time with your loved ones, be patient, and be available to them.
Violence and Abuse
Addiction is not the source of violence, but it is a cause of abuse. The addiction causes the user to lash out violently against the people they love. The abuser usually supplied the drugs for the addict to use or sold them for money. When users are not abusing drugs, but the drug itself is, they get withdrawal symptoms. When users feel these withdrawal symptoms, they will usually seek something stronger, usually using hard drugs.
Your relationship is only as good as the foundation of that relationship. If your foundation is based on lies, betrayal, and guilt, then your relationship will be damaged. Addiction is not something that someone can “get over” because it is a disease. And so too are relationships. When a relationship is being affected by addiction, understand that you need to take care of the addiction before getting back into that relationship.