Lifestyle Changes in Recovery: Rebuilding Family Relationships

Addiction Hurts the Whole Family

When someone struggles with addiction, they have likely experienced how negatively it affects familial relationships. Typically, people have no intention of hurting people they love. However, upon entering, addiction usually has other plans.

Drug addiction slowly overtakes humans’ minds, willpower, and emotions—it does not discriminate.

How Families Can Fall Apart

The longer someone is in active addiction, the more out-of-character their actions become. As a result, relationships typically fall to the wayside.

Where once someone was an integral family member may now be unable or uninvited to participate. After addiction becomes the mind’s driver, compulsive addictive behaviors are likely unwelcome at family gatherings.

Trust becomes frayed. Money might go missing, promises may consistently break, and bridges are in danger of permanent damage.

However, there is good news. There are ways to repair wreckage caused by addiction and demonstrate a willingness to grow. Addiction no longer has to rule the day, and people no longer have to suffer enslavement from it.

How Does Addiction Divide My Family?

Relationships can be rebuilt and restored, starting with honesty, love, and acceptance. Whether you or someone you know is seeking help, therapy, and treatment are available to overcome addiction.

We can accept that people sometimes:

• struggle
• are in pain
• become remorseful
• feel embarrassed
• are traumatized
• make mistakes

Furthermore, we can understand ourselves and each other for being human. Humans will never stop making mistakes; therefore, we must never stop learning to adapt and overcome.

So be kind to one another. People all struggle with something they don’t discuss with others. However, when it comes to addiction, this is a discussion worth having.

Learning to Rebuild Trust

Through the storm, families may have lost trust in each other and don’t know how to get it back. It can be hard to believe someone who hurt them.

Likewise, asking someone who got hurt for help can be challenging. Therefore, there is only progress when we meet in the middle.

Families can build stronger relationships and adapt to recent changes by establishing new boundaries to move forward. Learning to forgive is beneficial for everyone.

The people we love will see hardships; there is no doubt. But it is how humans bond together in times of despair that build the foundation they share. Education and compassion are the keys to unlocking deep connections with our loved ones.

How Can My Family Come Back Together?

If addiction continues, the pain and devastation continue also. Generally, most people who struggle with addiction also deal with feelings of extreme guilt or remorse.

While under the influence, people often behave abnormally to their typical patterns. These abnormalities can look like rudeness, changed sleep patterns, theft, lying, and other out-of-character behaviors.

People must be ready to change their negative behaviors when redirecting unwanted behaviors.

Can Addiction Treatment Help?

When beginning drug and alcohol treatment, medical professionals suggest that people start healing by attending family and individual therapies.

In addition, the patient’s family can access support groups like Al-Anon and Nar-Anon for resources. In this way, families can begin educating themselves on addiction.

As a disease, people closest to the patient can learn how to support their person to recover in the healthiest way possible. For example, positively involving a family in treatment can restore and heal relationships.

Additionally, family and loved ones can track the patient’s progress and see the results with their own eyes. Finally, as a part of the patient’s journey, families can bond over a joint experience.

At the end of the day, if a person wants to restore trust and heal relationships, their actions must speak louder than their words. Therefore, self-advocating for rehab treatment is a suggestion worth considering.