How Can Marriage Survive Sobriety

Of course, the addict’s ability to maintain sobriety will be essential to your ability to maintain the marriage as well. Even the strongest marriages will struggle when substance abuse is added to the picture. Even if the relationship survives, the damage can be long-lasting and difficult to overcome. Whether a marriage can survive addiction depends on many factors, including the commitment of each partner, the severity of the addiction, and the level of available support. Despite this, loved ones are usually able to tell when something isn’t right. However, marriages are much more likely to last if addiction treatment is sought out.

Make Marriage a Beneficial Part of Your Path to Sobriety

While you may harbor resentment or anger toward your spouse, it’s often counterproductive or damaging to constantly rehash these feelings. Instead, you can vent and navigate your emotions in a personal journal. Journaling can help you process your emotions without hurting your spouse or causing an unnecessary argument.

Go to Marriage Counseling for Addiction

When your loved one was in active addiction, it’s likely that part of your identity was based on their addiction. A lot of your life revolved around worrying about them, trying to get them to change, and taking on their responsibilities around the home. Setting boundaries with a person in recovery is just as important as setting boundaries with someone in active addiction. This is because of the reality that they may relapse again. It’s also important to hold your spouse accountable for their behavior in recovery. Explore the following tips for spouses who are married to an addict in recovery to better support yourself and their recovery process.

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When one partner has developed a psychological dependence on a substance, their behavior changes dramatically. The negative impact that drugs and alcohol have on relationships can even make you wonder if it is possible for the relationship to recover at all. This is especially true when dealing with addiction and marriage.

  • Attending therapy together can be a powerful tool for repairing a marriage after addiction.
  • It’s beneficial for you to learn about substance use disorder, including how it affects both your partner as well as yourself.
  • Seek couples counseling to learn communication strategies, address underlying issues in the relationship, and begin to heal your marriage.
  • The supportive partner may want to be needed, and feel unhappy, lost, or confused with the new relationship dynamic.

Substance Use Treatment

How Can Marriage Survive Sobriety

When asking whether marriage can survive sobriety, the answer can be yes—if a couple takes a healthy approach to managing their problems and discussing their feelings. It will take time to rebuild trust so it’s important to not put pressure on each other and instead take it one day at a time. In some ways, re-establishing a marriage in the wake of addiction is like dating and getting to know someone new, so it can be helpful to connect on specific date nights. It is vital for couples to have outside support during this time. Couples counseling can create a safe space to air out feelings and emotions and set concrete relationship goals to move forward. Each spouse should also be attending 12-step support groups.

The Right Treatment Facility

How Can Marriage Survive Sobriety

Your fear about change is a typical concern because you are correct in understanding that everything will change, including your relationship. Cessation from drugs and alcohol is a process, and your job is to encourage and support, not criticize or push them. Once they are sober, there will be ups and downs that your relationship will encounter, but you can manage them if you trust the process of recovery. Many books address the challenges of an individual getting sober from substance use disorders. However, it is rare to read a book that integrates the parallel recovery process that is necessary for couples in https://ecosoberhouse.com/ which one individual is in sobriety and the other is not. The non-addicted partner should make an earnest attempt, first and foremost, to start taking care of themselves.

Assessing the Damage of Addiction in a Relationship

How Can Marriage Survive Sobriety

Professional treatment can help marriage changes after sobriety you and your partner cope with the negative effects of substance use. A therapist can help you learn more about the role you may have played in a codependent relationship and learn healthier patterns. Most treatment methods for substance use disorder involve the family.

Rebuild Your Identity

Once you’ve identified the negative emotions that are holding you back, you can start to work on healing. Your husband or wife has chosen to stay and support you because they care. They’ll also care that you’re actively working on your recovery. Sharing the times when you’re going to an AA meeting or making progress in your alcoholism symptoms 12 Step Program can renew your partner’s faith that you’re truly going to get and stay sober. It’s an old adage that communication is vital in marriage anyway, and that’s especially true when one or both partners are recovering addicts.

Treat the Marriage as a New Relationship

Addiction often leads to financial problems, communication difficulties, and even infidelity. If you’re dealing with addiction in your marriage, it’s important to seek help from a therapist or counselor who can help you navigate these challenges. If you have a spouse who sticks with you and supports you throughout your sobriety, it can be a major source of support. But note that repairing your marriage may be a challenge, especially while you’re continuing on your path to recovery.

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