According to the National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics, “Among Americans aged 12 years and older, 37.309 million were current illegal drug users as of 2020.”[1]
Addiction is incredibly common in the United States, affecting millions of Americans daily. While many people think that addiction only impacts the person struggling with the condition, it actually affects everyone around them as well. Some of the people who are most affected by a loved one’s addiction are their romantic or intimate partners.
While addiction can be devastating to any relationship, it can be especially destructive to a marriage. When your partner is struggling with addiction, you might feel betrayed, neglected, or even angry. You may also feel like you have to walk on eggshells to avoid triggering your partner’s addiction.
If you are dealing with the impacts of addiction on your marriage, you might be wondering whether rehab can help you save it.
How Does Addiction Impact a Marriage?
Addiction can cause your entire personality to change, as substances can lead to mood and behavioral symptoms like fits of anger, bouts of depression, or even losing your personal morals. Because of this, eventually, your addiction will begin to impact those around you. While addiction can impact your friends and family members, it is most likely to cause the largest strain on your husband, wife, or life partner.
Addiction can impact your marriage in numerous ways, for example:
- Prioritizing substance abuse over your partner’s needs
- Not caring for responsibilities at home or work
- Breaking promises or lying to your partner
- Causing a breakdown of communication between you and your partner
- Experiencing significant legal or financial issues
- New or worsening domestic abuse (physical or emotional)
- Distrust between you and your partner due to frequent lying
- Neglecting your partner’s emotional needs
- Causing your partner great stress due to constantly worrying about your wellbeing
If you are struggling with addiction and beginning to notice that it’s impacting your marriage, you might be wondering what steps you can take to remedy the problems you are facing. The best way to make steps towards saving your marriage is to receive professional addiction treatment. If you do not recover from addiction, you will not have the mental and emotional capacity necessary to make amends to your partner and salvage your marriage.
How Can Addiction Treatment Save Your Marriage?
Living with addiction can be incredibly difficult, often causing strain on your mental health and the relationships that matter the most. When your addiction begins to impact your marriage, you must seek help to ensure that you do not lose your significant other.
Attending rehab can help save your marriage in the following ways.
Improving Communication
Addiction treatment involves more than just teaching you how to stop abusing substances. These programs also include therapy that teaches you how to effectively communicate with others and address negative feelings you may experience. Some of the ways this is achieved are through family or marriage counseling.
Marriage counseling can provide the two of you with the opportunity to become master communicators, allowing you to address any issues in a healthy and supportive manner.
Teaching Healthy Coping Mechanisms
One of the main reasons your marriage becomes strained during addiction is that you begin to use unhealthy coping mechanisms to deal with your emotions. During addiction treatment, you will participate in behavioral therapies that teach you how to effectively process and cope with uncomfortable feelings and emotions before they turn into destructive behaviors.
In time, you’ll be able to react healthily when you and your significant other are having discussions about important topics like finances, responsibilities, child care, or even intimacy.
Easing Financial Stress
When you suffer from an addiction, obtaining the substance you are dependent on becomes your number one priority. Oftentimes, this causes people to use the money to buy drugs or alcohol that should be used for other things like paying the bills or caring for children. Drug and alcohol spending can create a huge strain on a marriage, as financial stress is often the leading cause of divorce.[2]
Attending a rehab program will allow you to overcome your addiction issues and feel better emotionally. Rehab will give you the mental space necessary to work with your partner to address any financial issues you may be facing.
Improving Trust
Many people who struggle with addiction break the trust they have in important people in their lives by lying, cheating, or even stealing. Taking these actions can create rifts in a relationship that are very difficult to overcome without professional help. During addiction treatment, you and your partner will have the opportunity to overcome trust issues during marriage counseling sessions with a licensed therapist.
Get Connected to a Top-Rated Drug and Alcohol Rehab Program
If you or your significant other is suffering from an addiction, it’s time to seek professional help. Substance use disorders can create long-lasting damage in a marriage, making it vital that you receive the tools and support necessary to overcome addiction and repair any damage you have done to your relationship.
To learn more about our addiction treatment programs, contact Mandala Healing Center today.
References:
- The National Center for Drug Abuse Statistics (NCDAS): Drug Abuse Statistics, Retrieved July 2023 From https://drugabusestatistics.org/
- Kansas State University: Researcher finds a correlation between financial arguments, decreased relationship satisfaction, Retrieved July 2023 From https://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/jul13/predictingdivorce71113.html