Addiction in Marriage: How to Overcome It Together
Are you struggling with addiction in your marriage? You are not alone.
Addiction can take a toll on any relationship and cause dysfunction, tension, misunderstandings, hurt feelings, frustration, and a lack of emotional intimacy. But the good news is that you don’t have to battle addiction alone.
You and your partner can get treatment together and overcome this challenge. In this article, we’ll discuss the impact of addiction on marriage, the challenges of getting sober together, and how to get treatment as a couple.
Impact of Addiction on Marriage
Addiction is a family disease, and it affects everyone in the household. When one partner is struggling with addiction, it often leads to negative consequences, such as financial problems, job loss, legal issues, health problems, and mental health issues.
These consequences may result in tension, arguments, and hurt feelings. Addiction also tends to breed co-dependence, where both partners enable each other’s addiction behaviors, which can be challenging to break out of.
Furthermore, addiction can damage emotional intimacy in marriage. When addiction takes priority over the relationship, it can lead to emotional distance, misunderstandings, and resentment.
Both partners may feel frustrated and unable to communicate effectively with each other, leading to a breakdown in the relationship.
Challenges of Getting Sober Together
Getting sober is not easy, and doing it together can be even more challenging. Couples who try to get sober together must navigate co-dependence, triggers, and the aftermath of addiction.
Both partners need to learn new coping mechanisms, communication skills, and lifestyle habits that support recovery. The first challenge of getting sober together is breaking out of co-dependence.
Co-dependence is a common dynamic in relationships where one or both partners enable the other’s addictive behaviors. If both partners are addicted, they may have developed a co-dependent relationship that makes it difficult to create boundaries and break bad habits.
This dynamic can be especially challenging to overcome, but it is essential to recovery. Another challenge of getting sober together is managing triggers.
Triggers are situations, people, or places that remind you of past drug or alcohol use and can lead to cravings and relapse. Couples need to identify their triggers and create a plan to address them.
This plan may include avoiding triggers, seeking support from each other and other recovery resources, and developing healthy coping mechanisms. Finally, couples need to prepare for the aftermath of addiction.
Addiction can create many negative consequences that take time to resolve, such as financial problems, legal issues, and damaged relationships. It is essential to have a plan to address these consequences together, support each other through the recovery process, and maintain a positive outlook on the future.
Why Getting Treatment Together is Better Than Going it Alone
Getting treatment together as a couple has many benefits over going it alone. For starters, it allows both partners to prioritize addiction and recovery without sacrificing the relationship.
When both partners commit to recovery, they create a mutual support system that can help them stay accountable, motivated, and positive. They can also learn new recovery skills together, share their experiences, and celebrate successes.
Another benefit of getting treatment together is that it can help couples address underlying relationship issues that may have been worsened by addiction. By working with a therapist, couples can learn new communication skills, rebuild trust, and strengthen emotional intimacy.
This process can be especially important in the early stages of recovery, where emotions may be raw and communication may be challenging.
What to Expect in Couples Rehab
Couples rehab is a specialized treatment program designed for partners who want to recover from addiction and strengthen their relationship. Couples rehab typically includes medical detox, therapy, 12-step meetings, addiction education, relapse prevention, and holistic therapies.
These therapies are designed to address the unique challenges of addiction in a relationship, such as co-dependence, communication problems, and emotional intimacy issues. Medical detox is the first step in couples rehab.
It involves the supervision and monitoring of withdrawal symptoms to ensure safe and comfortable detoxification from drugs or alcohol. After detox, couples participate in a range of therapies, such as cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), individual therapy, and couples therapy.
These therapies help couples address the emotional, psychological, and behavioral aspects of addiction and recovery. In addition to therapy, couples rehab may include 12-step meetings, addiction education, and relapse prevention training.
These resources help couples maintain their sobriety, build community, and strengthen their recovery skills. Finally, couples rehab may incorporate holistic therapies, such as yoga, meditation, and art therapy, to address the physical and emotional aspects of addiction and support overall well-being.
Conclusion
Addiction can take a toll on any relationship, but couples don’t have to battle addiction alone. By getting treatment together, couples can prioritize addiction and recovery while strengthening their relationship.
Although getting sober together has challenges, the benefits, such as a mutual support system, the opportunity to address underlying issues, and specialized therapies and resources, make it worthwhile. If you and your partner are struggling with addiction in your marriage, consider reaching out for help and support.
Therapies and Recovery Tools for Helping Addicted Couples: What You Need to Know
Addiction can wreak havoc on any relationship, and it is important to know that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to recovery. However, there are various therapies and recovery tools that can be effective in helping addicted couples manage their addiction and work towards a healthier, happier life together.
In this article, we’ll discuss the most effective couples-focused therapies, the benefits of belonging to a recovery community, and the advantages of couples rehab.
Couples-Focused Therapies
Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT) is a couples-focused therapy designed to help couples overcome addiction. This therapy emphasizes problem-solving and communication skills, and it is based on the idea that addiction is not the fault of one partner alone, but rather it is a shared problem for both partners.
BCT helps couples identify and address maladaptive behaviors, increase communication skills, and provides coping skills to avoid relapse. Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is another couples-focused therapy that emphasizes emotional communication skills that help couples rebuild their emotional intimacy.
EFT works by helping partners express their emotions in a safe, supportive environment. Through this therapy, couples learn how to value their emotional connection and rebuild their relationship in a healthy way.
Alcohol Behavioral Couples Therapy (ABCT) is a specific form of BCT geared toward treating alcohol addiction. ABCT is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to be effective in reducing alcohol consumption and increasing relationship satisfaction in couples with alcohol addiction.
This therapy is done together with individual therapy sessions.
Recovery Community
Recovering Couples Anonymous (RCA) is a 12-step program designed specifically for couples who are in recovery. The program provides social support, guidance, and a sense of community for couples who are recovering from addiction.
RCA meetings are a safe space for couples to share their experiences and learn from others. Belonging to a 12-step group can be a transformative experience for couples in recovery.
The support system provided by the community can help couples stay accountable, motivated, and positive. Members of a 12-step group can become a primary support system, providing feedback, guidance, and advice.
The Benefits of Couples Rehab
Couples rehab is a specialized treatment program designed to help couples overcome addiction and strengthen their relationship. There are many benefits to attending couples rehab, including:
- Team Sober: Attending couples rehab with your partner can create a sense of empathy, understanding, and shared experience.
- Working towards sobriety as a team can help overcome the challenges of addiction.
- Couples Therapy: Couples therapy is an essential component of couples rehab.
- It provides a safe environment for couples to address their addiction issues and underlying relationship issues.
- Couples therapy is particularly helpful in addressing maladaptive behaviors that may have developed during addiction.
- Matching Toolbox: Couples in rehab are given the opportunity to develop the same recovery skills and share common concepts in addiction and recovery.
- This shared toolbox can be used to strengthen the relationship, avoid relapse, and maintain long-term recovery.
- Sentinels: Attending couples rehab provides couples with the opportunity to identify who their primary support system is, otherwise known as Sentinels.
- Sentinels are individuals or groups who serve to support and guide the couple in their recovery.
In conclusion, addiction can be challenging to overcome for any couple, but couples-focused therapies, the support of a recovery community, and couples rehab can help couples overcome addiction and rebuild their relationship. By working together through these therapies and programs, couples can create the foundation for a happy, healthy, long-lasting relationship.
In conclusion, addiction is a tough challenge for any couple, but the good news is there are various therapies and resources available to help couples regain control of their lives. Behavioral Couples Therapy (BCT), Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Alcohol Behavioral Couples Therapy (ABCT) are all effective in helping addicted partners work through their addiction.
The benefits of belonging to a recovery community like Recovering Couples Anonymous (RCA) and attending couples rehab are numerous and include team sober, couples therapy, matching toolbox, and sentinels. By using these tools, addicted couples can build a foundation focused on sobriety and communication, leading to a happy and successful relationship for years to come.
