These chemicals and our emotional and psychological make-up can cause us to obfuscate reality and idealize the object of our attraction. Located on the historic peninsula of Charleston, South Carolina, Lantana Recovery takes a modern approach to Substance Use Disorder treatment, offering intensive clinical care while also immersing our clients in local Charleston culture. Remember to reinforce all constructive behaviors, no matter how big or how small.
Living with an Addict
If you’re living with an addict that’s also your partner, you need to consider other family members. If you’re living with an addict, you probably have more than a few horror stories to share. Your life has undoubtedly been filled with stress and uncertainty as you watch someone you love spiral into addiction. Many times, people come out on the other side of can an addict love you addiction into a better, more fulfilling life. Until that time comes, here are some tips for living with an addict as well as some hard truths you need to face.
- Get expert insights, tips, and FAQs on codependency addiction relationship, and recovery.
- Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) is a support group for individuals struggling with codependency issues.
- As such, addicts may find difficulty appreciating the nuances of caring for another person once physical dependency rages or mental illness ensues as both take their toll on self-confidence.
Rules You Shouldn’t Break While Handling Someone’s Addiction
Postdoctoral psychology fellow Gina Gerardo, PhD, talks us through “love addiction” and how you can strengthen your relationship with love. The theory is that so-called “love addiction” develops because being in love is among the best anti-depressants that exist on the planet. There is a lot to get depressed about or anxious about or angry about that puts us in a bad mood. Love seems to magically banish that bad mood and makes us feel like everything is just great. So when we are feeling bad about something or other, we can comfort ourselves with an escapist romantic fantasy that makes us feel better.
When to get support
Celebrate the milestones, whether it’s a day of sobriety or a successful therapy session. Your encouragement and acknowledgment can be powerful motivators for their continued progress. Try to see beyond their struggles and recognize their potential, strengths, and positive qualities. You should also try to find things that you enjoy doing for yourself, and you should work on creating the life that you want without the inclusion of the addict.
Truths If Someone You Love Is Addicted
Professionals can also help them follow methods and ways of living that may be beneficial for their recovery. Substance abuse recovery is a tough journey that requires a lot of effort and commitment! If your loved one consistently shows a lack of motivation, refuses help, or doesn’t take their recovery seriously, it means they’re not ready or willing to change. If an addict is serious about recovery, they’ll surround themselves with positive influences and get support from close peers, sponsors, or mentors who understand their struggles.
- But hey, love has its own mysterious ways, and if you’re determined to love a person who is struggling with addiction, we’ve got your back.
- Warren is a Licensed Master Social Worker, who specializes in substance abuse and mental health treatment.
- The addiction must be treated successfully before the substance abuse sufferer can begin to become emotionally available again.
- This can lead to a situation where the codependent partner is unable to focus on their own needs and desires, and instead puts all of their energy into helping the addict.
- With all that in mind, read on to learn what exactly a reliance or fixation on love might entail, and what steps experts recommend for overcoming it.
Root Causes of Relationship Addiction
All in all, it’s safe to say that only a few percent of relationships are healthy where one or both partners are drug addicts. Given this inherent value-ladenness, we suggest, in defining some condition as a disease or a disorder, we should consider a range of different outcomes that would result from the application of such a label. We must consider who we think should have excuses for their behavior; who should receive support from friends or from the state; who should be an object of medical research; and (above all) who should receive treatment. We will consider these “mysteries” in turn as they relate to the notion of love addiction in the following sections. While the specific nature of these parallels has been described in inconsistent language throughout the literature, two main approaches to conceptualizing the relationship between love and addiction can be usefully teased out.
Although experts agree across the board that you can’t actually become addicted to relationships, or love in general, many relationship and post-breakup patterns can certainly resemble addiction. Yet since love addiction isn’t an official diagnosis, you won’t find it in the DSM-5. Experts also haven’t established any official criteria or symptoms that characterize this behavior pattern.
FAQs about Why a Drug Addict Can’t love you
Overall, finding hope and stability in a relationship with an addict can be difficult but not impossible. Through self-awareness, regular self-care practices, outside support systems and codependency recovery counseling involved parties can have access to essential tools which can give light during this tough journey. When dealing with any kind of addiction, it can be difficult to understand why an addict can’t love you in the way that you might wish. After all, you may have tried your best to show that person support, kindness, and unwavering loyalty — but still, things never seem to improve.