Codependency and Addiction

06/03/2018

Codependency and Addiction

Addiction’s effects can be far-reaching. Moreover, not only does drug and alcohol abuse profoundly change the person using, it can also negatively impact those around them. This is especially true if they have a codependent person in their life. Codependency and addiction can go hand-in-hand, with damaging results.

Are You Codependent?

While codependency often shows up in intimate relationships, family members may play codependent roles in a user’s life as well. In fact, anytime you put the user’s needs before your own, you’re feeding into codependency. For example, other traits of codependent people include:

Lack of boundaries
Low self-esteem
Poor communication skills
Feelings of guilt
People-pleasing

Sometimes, codependent people abuse drugs and alcohol alongside the primary user. Furthermore, they’ll cover for the user if they miss work or family obligations. If this sounds like you, you probably feel conflicting emotions. Specifically, you’re angry about having to take on so much responsibility, but you haven’t made it clear to the user that they have to seek treatment. Instead, you continue trying to appease them and nothing changes.

How Codependency and Addiction Work Together

Someone who’s deep in the grips of addiction has no control over their use. While the non-codependent people around them are firm in the behavior they’ll accept, a codependent individual may accept all types of abuse. Therefore, they’ll make excuses for the user instead of allowing them to be accountable for their actions. Codependent relationships don’t help users get the treatment they need. Instead, they allow damaging patterns to continue. However, they might know their relationship has flaws, but they need acceptance from someone, even if that person has a problem with drugs and alcohol.

To get out of the destructive cycle of codependency and addiction, someone has to take the big step of admitting to the problem and getting help for it. For example, this could be a spouse, parent, or child. Family therapy is especially beneficial if your loved one is grappling with addiction. With a counselor, everyone in the family can gain a better understanding of substance abuse. They’ll learn how to deal with the user in their lives to encourage them to get and stay clean.

Compassionate Treatment in a Comfortable Setting

If your life has been turned upside-down due to addiction, help is available. Silver Pines Treatment Center offers an array of addiction treatment programs for men and women. Additionally, our treatment therapies include:

It’s time to take a step toward healing. Therefore, contact our compassionate team of professionals today at 267.209.7313. We’ll start you on the road to long-term recovery.