It’s Not Just You: Five Ways Addiction Impacts Your Loved Ones

Drug addiction starts out as a choice, but then becomes an obsession. It causes problems with your health, your job, and your family. But your addiction is not just affecting your life; it is also ruining the lives of those who care about you. It is important to understand the different ways that your addiction is impacting the ones you love.

It's Not Just You: Five Ways Addiction Impacts Your Loved Ones

Your Lost Income Causes Problems For Your Family

When your addiction threatens your job, it also affects your ability to provide for your family. Many households require two incomes just to make ends meet and losing your income would put your family in a bad position. Trying to pay for your addiction without a job will just make everything worse.

Irresponsibility Can Lead To Tragedy

An addiction of any kind takes your focus off of the needs of your family members. If you have young children, then the irresponsibility caused by your addiction could lead to tragic results. If you are unable to focus on anything because your state of mind has been altered, then your young children could injure themselves and you would be unable to do anything about it.

Your Home Life Becomes Stressful

The best way to handle your addiction is to get professional help whether it’s from a doctor or a rehabilitation clinic. A professional who helps with women’s drug rehab in Fort Lauderdale has suggested that if you don’t get help, then your behavior will start to cause stress in your home. This can lead to strained relationships and medical problems for the people closest to you. In some instances, that stress will cause the permanent loss of relationships that are normally very important to you.

Your Loved Ones Are Forced To Change Their Lives

Because of your addiction, your loved ones may have to alter their lives in ways that will make your home life unbearable. Your spouse may need to take on a second job to make up for your lost income and that will cause friction in your relationship. You may have to start asking relatives to help care for your children, which would cause strain on your relatives and potential long-term issues for the relationship you have with your children.

Your Addictions Would Shame The Family

One of the worst things that can happen to anyone is to bring shame on their family. Your addiction may cause problems for your children at school as their friends find out about your problems. Your spouse may start to experience issues at work and you will start to see less and less of your other family members. The strong support you used to have from your family will be gone.

Drug Addiction for Veterans

Many brave men and women who serve our country live through traumatic experiences during deployment. Today, there’s more awareness about the many veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as a result of their experiences, yet much work remains. PTSD is one of the primary reasons veterans may turn to drugs or alcohol – as a coping mechanism to deal with the traumatic memories, feelings of depression, and anxiety resulting from PTSD – particularly if the disorder is inadequately treated or, in the worst-case scenario, undiagnosed or untreated at all.

DrugRehab.org created a comprehensive guide to shed light on the issues facing many veterans including the risk of addiction, suicide, and other contributing factors such as PTSD, and to provide resources and information to give veterans and those who love them a renewed sense of hope for regaining their sense of normalcy and achieving well-being.

When you are an addict, everyone suffers. Remember that you are not the only victim of your addiction. Your loved ones are suffering as well.

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About Rianne Hunter 29 Articles
Rianne Hunter is a wife, mother of three, and an freelance writer who covers a broad range of topics including family, parenting, health, and home.

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