The Impact of Substance Abuse on the Family Unit:

Family addiction counseling can be extremely beneficial when it comes to addiction therapy. Studies have shown that treatment that implements family therapy is more effective than when it's not. Addiction is something that can affect home and family life for the addict and the household. It's never too late to get the help you deserve, for yourself and for your loved ones. Therapy Addiction affects the individual, as well as everyone around them. It can be painful to see a loved one struggle and change for the worse. Having a supportive and open family environment is crucial too long term recovery. This is where family therapy for addiction can sometimes be necessary.

Family Therapy Addiction affects the individual, as well as everyone around them. It can be painful to see a loved one struggle and change for the worse. Having a supportive and open family environment is crucial too long term recovery. This is where family therapy for addiction can sometimes be necessary.

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Addiction affects those who use substances and everyone around them as well. It can be a crippling situation for everyone involved. Living with someone who is abusing drugs can be unpredictable, unsettling, stressful, disruptive, and sometimes even scary. This can cause a lot of issues for siblings, parents, and spouses.

To cope with the situation, family members may adopt destructive behavior while trying to deal with the situation. The entire family can become dysfunctional and fragile during the entire process. This sort of environment only helps fuel substance abuse and addiction.

Children are most affected by addiction in siblings and parents. Substance abuse can cause disruption in a

Child's regular development. Which can lead to higher risk of mental, physical, and emotional problems down the line. These stresses and disruptions can result

in poor performance in school and can lead to

learning disabilities and problems with authority

(skipping school, suspensions, etc.). Alarmingly,

children are almost four times more likely to become

addicted when living in a home with someone

suffering from addiction.

Unhealthy Behaviors to Avoid:

Families will often fall into certain unhealthy and enabling behaviors. These only continue the vicious cycle of addiction and stress. Looking out for these before and after family addiction counseling can make a world of difference.

Codependency happens when someone has to adapt to a dysfunctional family lifestyle. What tends to happen is, family members will put the addict’s needs and desires first. Family members may set aside their goals and lifestyle to fully focus on the individual struggling with addiction.

Signs of possible codependency include:

Projecting anger onto pets and children
Mood based on how your loved one is doing
Lying to others and yourself about a loved one’s drug use
Constant worry about your loved one’s addiction and health
Overall denial of the situation and constantly making excuses
Violent or irrational behavior towards addiction-related events
Unhealthy habits like over-shopping, obsessive internet usage, and over-eating
Lowered self -esteem and putting your own desires and emotions to the side for your loved one

Enabling

Enabling behaviors can be extremely unproductive and dangerous for addicts. Enabling occurs when you remove the consequences of drug use for a loved one. Some people may be trying to help but are actually enabling further drug use. It’s important to be aware of the signs and make sure you are not enabling a loved one and their drug use.

Behaviors that enable family members include:

Using substances with a loved one to keep the situation under control
Hiding your feelings so you can keep the peace between you and your loved one
Making excuses on behalf of your loved one and minimizing the consequences of drug use
Taking extra steps to make sure everything appears okay in the household (when this is not the case)
Accepting and not questioning your loved one’s excuses for their addiction and substance abuse
A feeling of guilt for failing to stop the consequences of addiction from affecting a loved one (from their drug use)

These behaviors, even though may seem helpful, actually encourage drug use. By getting rid of the consequences, a loved one has no reason to stop using drugs and alcohol. This is where family therapy for addiction can make a difference.