Relationships and Addiction Treatment Part 2: Repairing Relationships After Addiction

Reintegration is the process of adapting to normal life after addiction rehab. During this process, it’s important for someone to establish a support network that they can lean on during difficult times. 

Establishing a support network after reintegration can be difficult to navigate. Addiction is a disease that not only takes a toll on you, but your loved ones, too. After you reintegrate back into normal life, you may find that your relationships are strained and damaged. 

An important part of repairing your life after addiction involves repairing your relationships with your loved ones. Let’s take a look at how addiction affects relationships and how you can repair your relationships after addiction. 

Destroying Your Support Network—How Addiction Affects Relationships

Addiction is a disease that often causes someone to behave in ways that are harmful to themselves and their loved ones. While someone is battling with their addiction, they may act recklessly, compulsively, and dishonestly. 

These harmful behaviors make it difficult for someone’s loved ones to support them during and after their battle with addiction. This is due to the emotional, psychological, and financial impact that addiction has on someone’s relationships.

Read our related article to discover how long it takes for the brain to rewire after addiction.

Emotional Impact of Addiction on Relationships

While someone is struggling with their addiction, their loved ones will often struggle with a wide range of troubling emotions. 

The destructive behaviors of addiction can cause someone’s loved ones to feel anger, fear, and grief. Addiction commonly makes someone act dishonestly too, and this leads to long-lasting trust issues in their relationships.

An addict’s loved ones will often experience emotional exhaustion and compassion fatigue. This is because addiction creates an ongoing one-sided relationship where one person has to sacrifice their own well-being to accommodate the needs of the addicted person.

Learn more about codependency and enabling when a loved one is suffering from addiction.

Psychological Impact of Addiction on Relationships

Watching a loved one struggle with an addiction can lead to increased depression and anxiety. 

Addiction can cause someone’s loved ones to feel like they’ve contributed to the addiction and the destructive behaviors. This leads to guilt and shame, which can eventually lead to depression. 

The inconsistent and dishonest behaviors associated with addiction can also cause intense anxiety to develop in the people close to the addicted person. Depression and anxiety make it hard for someone to continuously support their addicted loved one. 

Financial Impact of Addiction on Relationships

Addiction can make someone exploit the financial resources of those around them. Sometimes, this means stealing money or asking for money in order to continue the addiction. Other times, someone may hide financial hardships from their spouse and family to conceal their addiction.

Read our addiction resources to learn how you can live a life that’s free from addiction.

Rebuilding Your Support Network—Repairing Relationships After Addiction

Repairing relationships after reintegration is a process. Many self-help groups will say that the first step in this process is taking accountability and apologizing. Taking accountability involves recognizing how your addiction behaviors harmed those around you. 

When you apologize, you should identify the specific ways that you harmed someone and express your remorse in a sincere way. A sincere apology requires you to take responsibility for your actions without making excuses for them. 

The last step in this process is to make amends. Making amends involves changing your behavior to align with your new and healthier life. It’s the actions you take to right your wrongs and reverse the damage that was caused by the addiction.

Read our family resources to learn how to support a loved one that’s battling addiction.

How to Repair a Marriage After Addiction

Someone’s spouse is often the foundation of their support network. Addiction takes a particularly damaging toll on a marriage, and it’s one of the most important relationships to repair during reintegration.

Repairing a marriage after addiction involves patience, understanding, and trust building. The first step is recognizing the specific ways that your addiction harmed your partner and created a rift in the relationship. Sincerely apologizing for your behavior can validate your spouse’s feelings and show that you want a better life together. 

To make amends with your spouse, work together to create a new relationship that’s loving, respecting, and honest. Seeking help and guidance from a mental health professional is an effective way to repair your relationship and help you make amends.

Learning How to Navigate Addiction Together with Family Therapy

Family therapy can strengthen a marriage and teach the skills needed to live an addiction-free life. This type of therapy teaches partners how to communicate, rebuild trust, and navigate life after addiction. 

Family therapy can also help reduce the chance of a relapse. Professional therapists help partners identify the risks that can trigger a relapse, and they can help develop a strategy for coping with them. 

Read our related article to discover why addicts relapse when things are good.

Sequoia Behavioral Health—Helping You Repair Your Relationships After Addiction

At Sequoia Behavioral Health, we recognize the long-term impact that addiction has on you and your loved ones. Our professional therapists can teach you effective strategies for healing your damaged relationships and maintaining an addiction-free life after reintegration.

If you or a loved one needs help repairing relationships after addiction, reach out to learn about family therapy at Sequoia Behavioral Health.