Believe it or not, relationships can enable addiction in many ways. People often feed off of each other to the point where they become the triggers for drugs. When this happens, they have two choices. They can do something about it or allow the relationship to cause them harm.
Relationships Can Enable Addiction to Many Activities
First, it’s important to note that relationships don’t just spur a dependence on drug use. While drug abuse is typically the first type that people think of, relationships aid dependency of all kinds.
While all of these problems are bad in their own right, relationships tend to bring out the worst in them. One reason is that many couples get together because of their substance use disorders. Sometimes this happens when they meet at a party and find out that they enjoy taking the same drugs. These types of relationships encourage each person to use drugs more.
Enabling Personalities
While it’s common for two people in a relationship to use the same drugs, that’s not always the case. Relationships can enable addiction even if only one person abuses substances. In such situations, doctors refer to the sober partners as the enablers.
How do people enable drug users? They could give them money that helps them buy drugs. They may also call in sick for them when they take too many drugs and can’t perform at work.
In most cases, the enablers have the best intentions. However, their actions don’t really help the drug users. Instead, they allow the users to continue living destructive lifestyles without many of the negative consequences.
On the other hand, trying to control the drug users is another way that people enable addiction. Parents are more guilty of this than those in romantic relationships, but it happens. Trying to control the users is more likely to drive them away than help them. Instead, it’s more important to focus on getting help for those individuals.
Enabling a drug user in this way also puts a considerable strain on relationships. In many cases, they end up giving up on each other. What’s worse is that addiction treatment services can save such relationships most of the time. Relationships can enable addiction, but professional services can teach people how not to enable.
Let Us Help You
You don’t have to live in a relationship that enables substance abuse. At The Willows at Red Oak Recovery, we help women just like you overcome substance use disorder. We offer a wide range of addiction treatment programs, including:
- Long-term treatment
- Individual and group therapies
- Dual diagnosis treatment
- Experiential therapy
Don’t let your toxic relationship cause you any more harm than it already has. Learn more about how relationships can enable addiction and how to prevent enabling. Reach out to our experts today at 855-773-0614 for more information.
