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Marrying someone who is into substance abuse makes life hard, and marriage even harder. Frequent abuse of substances like alcohol, prescription drugs, illicit drugs, and other practices is an overwhelming disease, and it can take a major toll on all aspects of your life.
It can destroy relationships, jobs, families, and marriages. The consequences of addiction can be loss of finances, estrangement, divorce, and even death. In this blog post, we will discuss 5 major effects of substance addiction in your married life when you or your partner are battling addiction.
Whether you are a mom in your 20s or a 50-year-old woman with grown-up children, seek professional help if you or your spouse’s substance abuse is causing problems in your marriage. Have a word with your doctor, seek a reliable drug rehab, or enroll yourself into a 12-step system to share your struggle. You need to understand that addiction is something that is very hard to defeat on your own. If you get the right help and support, your journey towards rebuilding your life will be much easier.
Substance abuse breaks trust and creates problems in all relationships. If you have experienced the pain of addiction in the past, you clearly understand the seriousness of this statement.
5 Ways Substance Abuse Can Destroy Your Marriage
Financial Problems
Financial problems are one of the most common reasons for divorces. When you are struggling with money issues, it becomes almost impossible to concentrate on other aspects of life. When you or your spouse is addicted to certain substances, a lot of money is invested in buying drugs or alcohol. You may find it hard to pay your utility bills if one of you is addicted to a substance and spending the major chunk of income to feed the cravings.
Trust Issues
When people get married, they promise to take care of each other no matter what. But what if one of them is addicted to a substance? In this case, a sober spouse may find it extremely difficult to handle a daily routine. Moreover, it can lead to serious trust issues in a couple.
There is another addiction-related factor that can create trust issues. Addicted individuals often lie about their substance abuse. They avoid sharing their whereabouts and telling who they are hanging out with. When the sober spouse finds the truth, it causes heartbreak.
Lying is dangerous for any relationship for many reasons. When you lie for the first time, it just doesn’t stop there. You have to lie multiple times to cover up your first lie. Ultimately, it gets so severe that it can break the trust that took years to build.
Communication Issues
Healthy communication is the foundation of any great relationship. If you or your partner is facing any problem, be it the addiction or anything else, it cannot be resolved without proper communication between you two. However, drug or alcohol abuse may cause communication issues. An addicted individual may avoid discussing anything and stay away from communication. This stops them from sharing their problems, and this becomes the significant barrier between them and the potential treatment. In this case, a sober partner might feel that addiction is more important to their spouse than talking.
Unfortunately, substance abuse also creates an abusive environment in the house, and it can be physical, verbal, or emotional. An addicted person may become more aggressive and violent under the influence, and communication is almost impossible with such people.
Intimacy Problems
Physical and emotional intimacy is essential to ensure a happy married life. If one of you is struggling with substance abuse, it gets difficult to maintain intimacy with the partner. Human body parts function slowly under the influence of substances like alcohol and several drugs. This can affect physical intimacy in couples and create more problems in the long run.
It is a common misconception with many people that alcohol or drugs increase sexual desire, pleasure, and behavior. The fact is far away from this as that statement is a lie. The reality is that the substances can actually harm the man’s ability to get an erection. Plus, it can hamper the ability to experience an orgasm in both men and women.
Furthermore, regular substance abuse affects your personality, and it may make you look less attractive to your partner. As a result, your physical intimacy gets hampered. Such issues in a relationship make it difficult for both of you to carry on life with the partner.
Addicts Ignore Responsibilities
An addicted individual is always focused on getting the next dose, and they often avoid their everyday life routine such as job, family, education, marriage and more. They spend most of their time abusing and buying drugs or finding a secure place to get high. With time, they get more ignorant about their own lives, which can put their married life at stake. When such a level of stress occurs in a marriage, it often ends with a divorce.
Final Words
Substance abuse results in increased conflicts, and it grows with time unless the couple sits together and talks about their problems. Such situations can indeed be a little tense, but it is still better than not discussing it at all.
If your husband is the one who abuses substances and has become abusive, move yourself with your children to safety. Talk to your counselor and find the best way to let your husband know that you have left home and won’t come back until you feel safe there. Encourage your husband to find the right help to overcome his substance abuse problems so that he can get his family and healthy life back.
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This content is brought to you by Jack Petti.
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