Live in Arizona and need to find an accredited treatment program? Check out our list of affordable programs that can help your loved one to get sober and help your family to heal from addiction. If you’re married to an addict Sober living house in recovery, you’re certainly not alone. Millions of families struggle with a loved one’s addiction, but many learn how to successfully adapt to the changes recovery brings.
There is open and honest communication about feelings around alcohol.
The first step to healing your relationship as a couple is to take an honest inventory of the damage that addiction has done. This damage can include bitterness, resentment, and anger toward your spouse. If you’re having a hard time identifying these negative emotions, that’s okay.
Encouraging Your Partner to Seek Help
- The single most driving emotion I needed to heal was anger.
- Partners eventually need to heal deeper issues of shame and learn to be autonomous and communicate assertively.
- Addiction often leads to financial problems, communication difficulties, and even infidelity.
It was exhausting and a perfect recipe for further enmeshment. It was an emotional cat and mouse game more than a relationship. My partner went to treatment shortly after we started living together. The most challenging decision I had to consider was whether to stay or leave the relationship. Though I did not doubt that we loved each other, the chaos of addiction had eroded our trust in each other, and my life no longer felt my own. Many books address the challenges of an individual getting sober from substance use disorders.
I’m Sober and My Spouse Is Not: Will Our Marriage Work?
It’s important to remember that addiction affects both partners in a marriage. The non-addicted spouse may also need support and guidance to navigate their own emotions and challenges. Seeking support groups specifically designed for spouses of addicts can provide https://iautomatia.com/your-guide-to-the-stages-of-alcohol-recovery/ a space for them to share their experiences and find solace in the company of others who can relate.
- Once he felt comfortable again, his smile and warmth returned along with a new playfulness.
- It can lead to financial strain, relationship discord, and health complications.
- Sometimes you have to move backward before you can ever hope to go forward.
- Seek couples counseling to learn communication strategies, address underlying issues in the relationship, and begin to heal your marriage.
Being patient will be key in getting your marriage back on track, whether you’re living with an alcoholic/drug addict in recovery or you are an alcoholic/drug addict in recovery. One of the biggest challenges of having a spouse who is not sober is that you may feel like you’re always walking on eggshells. It can be hard to relax and enjoy your life when you’re constantly worried about what your spouse is doing or whether they will make it home safe. Trust becomes a major issue, and it can be difficult to feel like you have a partner you can rely on. Perhaps there were other sober periods that didn’t last, so the belief is, “Why should this time be different?
Repairing Your Marriage After Substance Abuse Treatment
- Trust is fragile, communication feels strained, and life’s challenges keep testing your resolve.
- Professional treatment can help you and your partner cope with the negative effects of substance use.
- Some people stay with the person they were with before getting sober, and that relationship evolves to accommodate a new way of living.
- Recovery will change your marriage just like active addiction changed your relationship.
- “No, I’m not an alcoholic, I just drink . .. I’m tired … I want to quit, yes, I was in a drug treatment hospital, but I’m not as heavy as these.”
Financial stressors, such as job loss or mounting legal expenses, add additional pressure to an already fragile dynamic. Emotional intimacy fades as one partner feels neglected, while the other becomes consumed by their addiction. In many cases, verbal conflicts escalate, and sadly, instances of physical confrontation may also marriage after sobriety arise. Substances like drugs and alcohol can make a significant impact on a person’s overall health. Different substances cause different effects on the body, ranging from noticeable short-term effects to long-term detrimental effects. The longer a person uses a substance, the more likely these effects will remain permanent even after a person stops using.