Ask the friends and relatives of substance abusers in the throes of severe addictions and they’ll attest that maintaining affection for addicts can be challenging. Unkind words, threats, neglect, and even violence may be a part of daily life while loving a drug addict. It’s not uncommon for addicts to become physically or emotionally abusive, which can result in the need for professional intervention and the assistance of law enforcement. If you care deeply for an addict, one of the best things you can do for yourself is to ensure your own health, safety, and well-being. Loving an addict can be an extremely stressful experience, so protecting yourself from emotional, mental, and physical abuse can minimize the amount of personal damage you sustain. Much like the facilities listed in BetterAddictionCare’s nationwide network, your ability to assist in an addict’s recovery can hinge on your availability.

It’s no secret that being in love with an addict can be an incredibly frustrating experience. For sober partners, it may appear that no amount of love or affection can turn the tide of substance abuse, as addicts seemingly continue to choose drugs and alcohol over their relationships. Ultimatums may fall on deaf ears, and acts of desperation and selfishness may increase. Loving an addict does not require that you sacrifice your own needs or enable bad behavior. In fact, one of the healthiest actions you can take is to establish boundaries and stick to your convictions as addicts find their way toward sobriety.

Many of the top facilities listed in our nationwide recovery network feature programs that help addicts understand the consequences of their negative actions. Addiction counseling may include therapy sessions with friends or loved ones so that relationships can be repaired and all parties can become comfortable with each other again. This can be especially beneficial for close associates of addicts who may have suffered personal or material harm while patients were under the influence of drugs. One of the most important lessons that friends and family can learn while figuring out how to love an addict is that addiction is an all-encompassing disease that affects biology, brain activity, decision-making capabilities, and impulse control. Individuals who have had experience with loving a drug addict know that close associates can only start healing when they realize that they were essentially encountering the consequences of addiction rather than the true essence of the person.

Acquiring coping skills can be an integral part of learning how to love an addict. These skills will assist you in preserving your sense of self-worth when you feel helpless to stop your loved one from engaging in destructive behaviors and may even keep you safe. They’ll help you remain as detached as possible as the addict in your life goes through the necessary, and sometimes painful, phases of addiction recovery, including hitting rock bottom. Addressing codependency issues can also help you and your loved one disengage from the cycle of addiction, as you’ll recognize that being in love with an addict does not mean that you have to enable them. Call today to speak with a counselor who can arrange for transportation services and an immediate admission to ensure that your loved one will receive addiction recovery assistance in a 100% confidential setting.