Helping Your Addicted Spouse

We want to be able to trust and feel safe with the people we love the most. Addiction can erode the trust in a marriage and cause conflicts, chaos, emotional distress, and even violence. If there are children in the relationship. there can be additional conflict over parental responsibilities and possible neglect and abuse. Your spouse’s alcohol or drug use may have increased after you were married, or maybe they just hid their addiction, but regardless of how it began, their addiction must be addressed to have a healthy marriage. Aspire Counseling Services offers resources to assist you in getting help for your spouse.

Signs of Addiction in a Marriage

• Breaking promises, especially regarding limiting alcohol or drug use.
• Risky behavior, such as driving under the influence
• Endangering children or others with risky behavior
• Money gone without explanation
• Hiding alcohol and drugs
• Frequently absent without explanation
• Difficulty maintaining employment due to unreliability
• Health problems due to alcohol or drug use

If you have an addicted spouse, your first step is to seek help. Aspire Counseling Services provides resources to guide you through the process of living with an addict and helping them to seek treatment. You will learn about addiction and what it does to the addict, both biologically and psychologically, and how addition changes the brain and impacts their behavior. You will also learn the importance of taking care of yourself, emotionally and physically, and prioritizing the needs of you and any children.

When dealing with an addict there are several steps you must take to guide them toward their recovery. You should ensure that you are not enabling the behavior by making excuses for them or lying for them. Addressing their addiction by establishing boundaries is best for both of you. Using clear communication, you must establish the consequences for their use of alcohol or drugs and allow them to face those consequences without you creating a buffer.

One of the most important steps for someone living with an addict is to find a support group. Having others to talk with who are experiencing similar struggles helps you to understand you are not alone. Aspire Counseling Services offers support groups that will help you to develop coping skills and focus on your own life goals. The more you learn about addiction, the more you will be able to guide your spouse toward recovery.

Contact Aspire Counseling Services today to get help for both you and your spouse to fight addiction and its devastating consequences, so you can begin the road to recovery together.