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Even the strongest of relationships can suffer greatly when a family is trying to deal with a loved one who is fighting an addiction. This is because families often go through enormous and conflicting emotions. The family of the addict is aware that their loved one isn't purposefully causing them grief or harm. They wish to offer him or her support, love, and encouragement as a result of their empathy.On the other hand, the family experiences pain and annoyance as a result of the addict's everyday manipulation, dishonesty, and other forms of emotional abuse. These unfavourable feelings consequently show themselves in harmful ways, which could disrupt relationships within the family.
The following are a few of the most detrimental effects that substance misuse has on families.
1. Impact on Children
According to studies, 1 in 5 kids grows up with a parent who uses drugs or alcohol excessively. The impacts of a parent's addiction or substance abuse problem are almost certainly going to have an impact on how the child develops. There is no one else for the kids to turn to in single-parent households, so this is very problematic. When a parent has an addiction, they will be preoccupied with finding and consuming their drug of choice, which will keep them from attending to their duties. They won't provide for their child's necessities as a result. This carelessness spans from neglecting secondary needs like ensuring their child receives an education and a social life to primary needs like not providing meals and keeping the youngster clean. Their social growth, wellbeing, and sense of self will all be impacted by this.
2: Loss of Trust
Because addicts are prone to breaking their pledges and agreements, their relationships suffer as a result. It's important to keep in mind, though, that most addicts intend to keep their promises, but the consequences of the drugs prevent them from doing so. Because of the addict's inability to fulfil their duties, their significant other may likely become irritated if they are in a relationship. They're also susceptible to forgetting the commitments they make to their kids. If this continues, the child will struggle to build relationships with others because they lack trustworthiness. This loss of trust often results in broken marriages and dysfunctional children.
3. Increased Stress
The addict would probably delegate all of their tasks to their spouse while they are still struggling with their addiction. As a result, the partner acts as an enabler. The other parent will quickly become exhausted from handling the expenses, making decisions, raising the children, and dealing with the addict. They run a higher chance of developing stress-related illnesses including high blood pressure and anxiety as a result. People who suppress their tension are also more prone to blow up and let all of their emotions out at once. Family members may experience even greater stress and discomfort as a result of this.
4. Money-related Issues
Addiction is not inexpensive to support. Additionally, the person's substance addiction issue will probably result in them losing their work due to subpar attendance or performance. They will then turn to their funds to feed their addiction after that. As a result, the family will start to struggle to pay for necessities like food, clothing, utilities, rent or mortgage. Additionally, there can be legal issues, such as getting caught using drugs or driving while intoxicated. The additional expenses lead to a worsening financial situation.
5. Abuse of the Body and Emotions
The addict's substance misuse is likely to make them crazy as well as agitate those around them. This implies that small arguments can escalate into major altercations because everyone involved feels misunderstood. Everyone is acting out of character, therefore physical violence could start happening on top of the emotional abuse already present. Addicts can abuse others, but because of their fragility, they also run the risk of experiencing abuse themselves.
6. Anxiety and Perplexity
A person who abuses drugs typically exhibits unpredictable behaviour. You never know how they'll respond in a certain circumstance. Family members may start treading carefully in an effort to avoid verbal or physical abuse in order to placate their addicted loved one. Children will become more reticent in order to avoid offending the person. The ultimate effect is a culture of dread and misunderstanding that prevents the family from experiencing happiness very often.