To Name a Few
Maybe its severe weight loss. Maybe its money missing from the dresser. Out late without any remorse or explanation. Worse, maybe it’s the rages—the mood swings. The financial trust that has been destroyed. Maybe it’s the complete absence of a father or mother. The lies, the arguments, the secrecy, the conflicts with police, the person you once knew has become something unrecognizable.
Addiction can do all these things, and the effects of addiction on family are widespread …and so harmful.
Roller Coaster Effects of Addiction on Family
People often see addiction as a personal affair. It is the decision of an individual, and it’s their responsibility to get out of it.
However, anyone with a family member or loved one dealing with an addiction knows that fighting it is so much more. It’s a family affair. While the user will experience more devastating effects, these things also flood down onto parents, spouses, children, and other loved ones. Just about anyone in the circumference feels the effects of addiction on family.
Here are some of the most common effects of addiction on the family.
Child Neglect and Abuse
Research shows a high correlation between addiction and increased chances of child abuse and neglect. Typically, people with substance use disorders put their addictive needs and habits before those of anyone else.
As a result, if they’re parents or guardians, kids fall on they wayside. This could bring malnourishment or exposure to dangerous situations. This all leads to complex emotional and mental anguish. Children of addicted parents experience deep issues with social development, health, and self-esteem.
Trust Issues
People with substance use disorders have a difficult relationship with responsibility. They become flakes. They re-prioritize drugs or alcohol as the only thing that matters. Work, relationships, personal safety, all these things are not important.
While they might have the intention to honor what they say to you in the moment, once they are left to their own devices, commitments mean very little. This includes promises to children, partners, and family members.
As a result, loved ones lose trust—leading to a rift that worsens over time and repeated offences.
Financial Strain
Financing any addiction is an expensive affair. To make matters worse, people with substance use disorders have a hard time holding down a job. Often, the biggest financial strain comes when the addict cannot perform their professional duties (or scholastic if that is their stage in life).
As a result, they start tapping into their savings and eventually drain the little set aside for the family for emergencies. Or they “borrow.” Or blatantly steal.
As family members try to cope with addiction in someone they love, they undergo a rollercoaster of emotions regarding finances that strain and can break even the healthiest relationships.
The Final Effect
These are the common ones. Of course, nothing compares to the effects that an overdose or a death can have on the family of a person with an addiction. And death from overdose is tragically common.
While a family might go out of their way to render the best support to help overcome an addiction, often, addicts are deceitful, manipulative, and physically or emotionally abusive.
If you love someone with a substance use disorder, the best thing to do is reach out.
Talk to someone who can offer insight on the realities of addiction and work to understand your unique situation to give you specific, actionable guidance. Here is a first step on how to help a loved one struggling with addiction.
At Heartwood Recovery, our team is here to talk to you about all of your options. We offer addiction treatment for men in Austin, Texas.
