Coping with Changes in Relationships After Addiction Recovery

Recovering from an addiction requires the recovering addict to learn and cope with a healthy awareness of their relationships with others, both significant and casual. Most times, a recovering addict who is either married or has a been in a long time relationship, will become aware that their partner is co-dependent and that they not only need to recover from substance abuse, but also from their co-dependent relationship. If unaddressed, a co-dependent relationship will undermine the recovering addict’s effort to stay sober and the grow emotionally healthy.

A recovering addict’s current relationship is predicated on their illness, for example, the other partner in the relationship is receiving something out of being involved with someone who is an addict. Their motives are numerous and unhealthy, but this points out that this partner will strongly resist the recovering addicts process to staying sober. The very thought of recovery threatens the partner’s role in the recovering addicts life; the partner will feel threatened about the emotional control they have over the addict. They have, throughout the relationship, enabled, controlled and have become very co-dependent upon their addicted partner and will most likely, subconsciously, sabotage their sober partner’s recovery.

Individuals in addiction recovery programs will find that they’re in a co-dependent relationship, and that co-dependent partner is unwilling to accept change. If this is the case, then the recovering addict may need to leave this relationship. Some relationships won’t survive recovery; as a matter of fact, most do not, especially if the partner is a true co-dependent personality. It is essential for a recovering addict to make the choice between happiness and health through recovery, or to continue with a detrimental, co-dependent relationship; most recovering addicts choose health and happiness. Relationships that do survive recovery, are the one’s where the co-dependent partner also begins to recover from their own unhealthy actions and begins a recovery program of their own, which there are plenty designed to help them through a very difficult time of accepting change. As the time with recovery grows, the opportunity for the relationship to start anew will take shape and both partners will have a whole new respect for each other and each others recovery program.

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