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How Alcohol and Addiction Affects Families

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Alcohol and drug addiction impact millions of families each year. It’s important to remember that the pain caused by addiction hurts more than just the addict.

The life of addiction can be a long and difficult road to travel. Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic pill to make it go away. Recovery requires commitment and discipline, along with the willpower to turn away from temptation.

This article takes a look at the effects of addiction on family.

Keep reading to discover insight into addiction and family, so that you can take steps to prevent your drug and alcohol abuse from getting out of control.

Trust Is Lost

When you have an addict in your life, one of the first things you lose is trust. The simple yet painful truth is that you cannot trust an addict. They will lie about everything.

They lie because the disease of addiction has taken over. Your loved one becomes a different person and is usually willing to do or say anything necessary to feed the addiction.

This can be a painful realization that typically drives a wedge through the relationships that often are never able to fully heal.

Increase in Domestic Abuse

Another common effect of addiction is the increased potential for domestic abuse. Addicts often become abusive to those around them, both verbally and physically. This can make it unsafe to be around them.

If the addict in your life becomes abusive, especially when children are present, this is a clear red flag that it’s time to remove yourself from the situation.

However, if you can still do something and offer recovery programs for them to consider such as a partial hospitalization program then you must do so as early as possible to prevent further pain for you and your family.

Loss of Income

Addicts typically become unreliable. Their performance at work will suffer or they’ll stop showing up. This can have a huge impact on their family’s quality of life.

Also, an addict will often need a lot of money to feed their addiction. This translates into taking money needed for more important things such as food or rent and spending it on alcohol or drugs instead.

This type of behavior can cause a family to rapidly fall apart as bills go unpaid for weeks or months at a time. Once an addict is fully under the control of the disease, their top priority becomes obeying the addiction rather than providing for their family.

Steal From Love Ones

An addict won’t hesitate to steal from loved ones. This could be money, jewels, and other valuables. Anything to get the money to pay for the substances that their addiction craves.

This addiction resource can help you deal with the addict in your life.

Place Loved Ones in Danger

The next thing to remember is about addiction, is that you are never safe around an addict. No matter what kind of relationship you had in the past, the disease doesn’t care about you or your safety.

You’ll likely notice radical mood swings, and during these episodes, anything can happen. Thus you need to remove yourself as quickly as possible and seek help.

Education Yourself About the Effects of Addiction On Family

The effects of addiction on family can be heartbreaking. Fortunately, this article will help you be aware of what to expect so that you can prepare yourself for dealing with a loved one battling this terrible disease.

Keep reading to see more useful lifestyle tips and advice.

Jeff Campbell