Substance addiction often brings a range of devastations to family life. If you are married, it is most likely that this significant relationship has suffered lots of damage. While addiction can surely take a heavy toll on a marriage relationship, treatment and recovery are also the time when you need to invest extra efforts in rebuilding a marriage. It would be unfortunate to see a marriage dissolve during your sober phase. The loss of this relationship may even bring about new risks of relapse. Laguna Shores Recovery Center provides couples counseling and family therapy that have helped marriages thrive during recovery.

Marriage Relationship Damaged by Addiction

People with substance addiction may experience challenges in marriage for a number of reasons. First of all, if their spouse disapproves of the addictive habit, they may lie or hide the addiction. Over time, these lies and deceptive methods may accumulate and damage the trust in a marriage. Secondly, because addiction increases impulsive behaviors, some people may seem completely untrustworthy in the eyes of their spouse after developing an addiction. Some of these impulsive behaviors may include domestic violence.

A healthy marriage relationship depends on trust and communication. Without these two building blocks, there can be emotional stress. Because addiction changes the neurological pathways in the brain, which leads to emotional dysregulation, people with addiction may lose their original capacity in expressing and controlling emotions. Relational dysfunction and emotional dysregulation may become a vicious cycle.

Overcoming Codependency in a Marriage Relationship

Apart from unhealthy communication, emotional stress, and financial stress, a marriage relationship may enable addiction to become persistent. This is also known as codependency. For example, a spouse may disapprove of addiction but continues to supply money when the other partner needs to secure substances.

Codependency thrives in marriage relationships that are damaged by addiction because it started as a type of relational addiction. Usually, there is a lack of healthy boundaries which compromises personal accountability. For the sake of reputation or preservation of a marriage, the non-addicted spouse may unwittingly enable addiction. 

Challenges to Marital Relationships After Sobriety

Achieving early sobriety is certainly a great milestone worth celebrating. But this is only the beginning. Recovery is not a once-for-all effort. Many people have to wake up from the unrealistic expectation that life will become normal and perfect again after sobriety. The truth is, both you and your spouse need to work on repairing this important relationship.

A healthy marital relationship is the foundation of a healthy family life. Because addiction negatively affects the entire family system, repairing the marital relationship can be critical to the well-being of a family. The good thing is, your early sobriety is certainly a step forward in this direction.

If you are a person in recovery, the best you can do is to work closely with health professionals through a wide range of treatment methods to maintain sobriety. The more you invest in this process, the more benefits your spouse can gain from welcoming a better you into family life. 

If you are supporting a spouse who continues the journey of recovery, make sure that you have a strong support group. This can be other family members, friends, or health professionals who understand what you have been going through. 

Together, both you and your spouse may consider family therapy or couples counseling programs that focus on maintaining long-term sobriety through effective self-care. There can be some unresolved issues in your marriage that need more help from a professional therapist. 

Embracing a Phase of Adjustment

After achieving sobriety, your marriage relationship may need a phase of refreshing and adjustment. Human beings are formed by habits. It is time to pause and reflect on some habitual patterns in this marital relationship. Working with a therapist, both of you are given a new lens to inspect what habits are unhealthy. 

This phase of adjustment also gives the relationship some time to heal. This means letting go of past wounds and trauma. Together, you can explore new ways of interaction. Opening up lines of communication alone can greatly enhance the quality of a marriage. The key is to not fall back into old habits of mutual blaming and distrust. 

Benefits of Life Skills for Restoring Marriage Relationships

Laguna Shores Recovery Center also provides life skills classes to help recovering individuals improve their domestic, self-management, and financial skills. Believe it or not, domestic chores are the most common area of marital disputes. Codependency also tends to thrive in a person’s lack of life skills. 

Recovery experts who advocate for an integrated approach tend to design a personalized treatment plan to include a wide range of methods, including individual therapy, family therapy, relationship coaching, and life skills classes. These are important components for a recovering individual to rebuild family life while maintaining sobriety.

Are you ready to rebuild your life and break free from the chaos of addiction? Do you want to provide the best support to your spouse who is in recovery? These goals are too challenging for one person to achieve. Maybe it’s time to get the help you need. At Laguna Shores Recovery Center, our evidence-based treatment programs are designed to address the personal needs of each individual who comes to us for help. Here, you will meet a highly experienced team of health experts. They can create a treatment approach that will lead you into a life of sobriety. Call us today at 954-688-5806. A new life is waiting for you.