Nothing affects your life more than a romantic relationship, especially if you are living with your partner. People often refer to their romantic partners as their ‘other half,’ and in ideal couples each person’s talents and weaknesses are nearly perfectly balanced by the talents and weaknesses of their partner. One might be shy while the other is great at talking to people or one might be enthusiastically incautious while the other tends to be too careful. In these situations, the couple evens out to a unified happy, healthy pair. However, not every couple is well-balanced and, unfortunately, not all couples are happy either.
When Relationships Come With Addiction
Sometimes people choose a partner who seems fun, interesting, exciting, and a perfect match only to discover that they have some flaws too powerful to overcome. Bad tempers, jealous paranoia, and inherent sadism are among the most dangerous but drug addiction can take an already bad relationship to its worst possible extremes. Drug addicts care less and less about the needs and feelings of those around them. Some feel that their drug habit is a part of them and must be accepted or feel that their romantic partners don’t really love them. Even worse is when they decide that their partner must join them in doing the drug in order to be close. Doing the drug together is their way of never letting go. This is often how people innocently looking for a life partner wind up addicted to things they never would have tried on their own ranging in intensity from alcohol to prescription pills even to Schedule I drugs like Heroin or Cocaine.
Addiction After the Relationship.
But what about when the relationship ends? Whether the addict finally lost all interest in connecting and left you or you took the first step to taking care of yourself and kicked them out; the end of the unhealthy relationship may not actually mean the end of all the problems that came with it. Even without the addiction, you would still need to pick your life back up and possibly seek counseling to cope with the abuse and codependence that occurred. However, when the end of a bad relationship leaves you not just with emotional scars but a physical addiction to alcohol or drugs, your life might be on the brink of destruction even as you’re trying to start over without the other person. It can be hard to let go when you are left in the grips of addiction.
After a breakup in an addict-focused relationship, you may find that your desire for the drug actually increases because you are alone, sad, and feeling all those terrible emotions that come with the end of even a bad relationship. You may turn back to the drug because it reminds you of ‘the good times’ when the two of you were high together, because the drug takes the edge off your emotional pain, or simply because physical addiction starts to cause withdrawals and you instinctively reach for another dose. It’s all too easy to slip into a depressive addiction cycle where you seek to blank your mind or simply access the drug over and over again in the midst of the post-breakup depression. This is the most dangerous phase of all because you’re at such a high risk of accidentally overdosing or losing track of the rest of your life.
Letting Go and Starting Over Without the Addiction
One of the most important things about ending a relationship is letting go and resolving to start over. While it may hurt to be alone and to no longer have the good things about your addict partner, you are also much better off without all the bad things like their mood, lack of responsibility or care for your needs, and of course their addiction becoming an overwhelming part of your life. Now that the person is gone, it’s your chance to start over and rebuild your life, even if you need to rebuild from the ground up.
Music often refers to the scars left behind after a bad relationship and it’s true that you will likely always remember this person with hurt feelings but you don’t have to let their bad influence ruin the rest of your life. And that’s exactly what the addiction they left you with will do. In order to start over, regain your self-confidence, and find someone new who will be better for you and love you without the burden of drugs and addiction, you first need to wipe your own slate clean of these bad experiences by dealing with the addiction you were left with.
Need Addiction Treatment Help in Fresno California?
If you’re ready to leave a toxic relationship and the related chemical dependency behind, we can help. Here at First Steps Recovery, we specialize in helping people who are ready to rebuild their lives but need help with the physical and psychological burden of substance addiction. You don’t have to let a past relationship pull you down for good. Please contact us today to find out more about your recovery options. We are here to help and ready to give you the support you need to let go of your past burdens. You can become independent and healthy beyond the aftermath of a toxic substance-riddled past relationship.
