The Strain of Addiction on a Family
When a member of a family has a substance addiction, the entire family is affected in many different ways. The main way it affects the family is watching a loved one have an addiction and the effects of that addiction on everyone. While in many cases there is the myth that having an addiction doesn’t affect the family as a whole, so everyone tries to fix the one member with the addiction. It’s a family disease and should be fought as a family to overcome the addiction. Obtaining professional help to learn the best way to help the addict and the whole family learn to help each other while in recovery is the best. Having an addiction essentially means you are addicted to a substance or act to make you feel better about yourself or to forget whatever it is that you need to feel better about. This addiction can cause many rifts with the whole family in a slew of reasons. Codependency being the biggest factor. Codependency can be anything from pretending the addiction doesn’t exist to hiding the addiction from other family members, friends and even employers. Many family members will deny that an addiction exists in hopes to help “cure” someone, when this is more detrimental than facing the addiction and the cause. There is no cure for an addiction, just the will power to know that your friends and family are all there to help you succeed in overcoming said addiction, and identifying the root of the problem. In many cases there are thoughts and fears of the addicted person as the family dynamic can be ruled by the mood swings and any behavioral impairment from having an addiction. Many family members will try to keep the addict busy to keep their mind off the addiction. This isn’t always helpful as it can mask problems the family may have, rather than facing them. There are family dynamics that can feed an addiction as well, but this can all be overcome by seeking professional help. Seeking this help does not in any way mean that you or a family member has failed in helping an addict overcome their addiction, it does however mean you are taking the right step to further help the family as a whole.