Addiction causes many issues to rise to the surface, including codependency. Relationships take work. Even when they’re healthy and happy, partnerships require communication and sacrifice from all parties involved. A willingness to compromise is key. Often communication and compromise go out the window. There are ways to beat the codependency circle and detach (with love) from someone who has addiction while still supporting their journey to recovery.
Cycle of Codependency
When a person is locked inside addiction, struggling to break free, codependency issues usually arise. Often loved ones of the person with addiction have no idea they are codependent until it has gone too far and they cannot turn back. It is not hard to imagine how quickly things can go awry in an otherwise happy relationship. Perhaps there are excuses for lack of work, forgetting important dates or activities like school pick-up or missed appointments. Soon, the spouse of a person dealing with addiction may find themselves taking their loved one to pick up substances so they are ‘safe.’
Reality of Codependency
The challenge of recognizing codependent behavior is noticing it within oneself. The sober spouse may juggle everything or the parents take over paying bills to keep things ‘normal.’ meanwhile, the loved one is spiraling out of control. Unless a partner can identify issues on their own, unhealthy behavior continues to grow. The tension and resentment become so heavy, the only solution may be to break apart the family.
Professional Help
From the outsider’s perspective, facing addiction is never easy. There are places that can help them. Offering treatment for the family and the individual can help propel a person forward. During detox and treatment, people learn about addiction while participating in experiences that are therapeutic. Partners can learn how to establish healthy boundaries and how to begin rebuilding relationships and trust. Even if this process is challenging, it offers guidance and advice that a person and family need to learn how to detach with love along with suggestions to get started.
Healing addiction is a family affair. Addiction does not affect only the person, but everyone around them. Addiction is a ‘family disease,’ and treatment services can benefit the whole family along with community resources.
The Springboard Center’s addiction treatment programs are tailored to meet the needs of each client. By utilizing a set of diverse methods of addiction treatment, we are able to deal with your addiction from all angles and concentrate on every aspect of your healing process. It is important to recognize that many of our services offer a group setting and environment, so that the client spends time with other people affected by the same chronic disease and problems. 432-620-0255
