Substance abuse doesn’t only negatively impact your mental, emotional, and physical health, but it also harms your family and friends. Addiction is a disease that destroys lives and continues to plague many families across the world. While you may think that your substance abuse only affects yourself, the potential damage that your addiction may have on your family become irreversible. Here are some ways that addiction harms your friends and family.
Your Addiction Isolates You From Your Family
Once your brain is fully under the influence of your substance abuse, your entire personality will be severely impacted. Every waking moment will be in pursuit of chasing an unobtainable high. Whether your family and friends are aware of your addiction, they’ll start to notice a change you. Your addiction may cause you to lash out at your loved ones or you may close yourself off, emotionally and physically, from your family members. Substance abuse impacts people in different ways, but a common side effect amongst each user is that substance abuse negatively impacts the family members of substance abusers.
Other Ways That Your Addiction Can Impact Your Family
Unthinkable acts, such as stealing and lying to your loved ones, may seem like valid methods of maintaining your high. With your better judgment completely clouded by your substance abuse, you’ll be more prone to acts of violence or self-harm. Each and every trial and tribulation that’s caused by your addiction will have a ripple effect throughout your family. Relationships may be destroyed and your family income may be severely impacted. Your substance abuse will lead to making each and every one of your loved ones worry, no matter if they’re at school, work, or even completing random errands. A general sense of stress and dread will engulf your family as they worry about your wellbeing while you’re under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
The Disease of Addiction Can Infect Your Family
Introducing substance abuse into your family environment can have longlasting effects on your family. Similar to a devastating disease, addiction can infect your family members by simply existing within their environment. Having substance abuse become normal can start a destructive trend amongst your family members. Quite often, genetics and environment play a huge role in someone’s substance abuse. Subconsciously, children and teenagers are always absorbing their environments. Seeing someone that they love and admire constantly under the influence of drugs and alcohol can set them on a destructive path in the future. Terrifyingly enough, this dangerous mindset can be passed down to future family generations in a neverending cycle of self-destructive behavior.
The Path To Recovery
If you or a loved one are seeking the path to recovery, contact aTennesse alcohol addiction program. At Discovery Place, we offer multiple programs that will set you down the path to redemption. Not only do we offer alternative treatment programs that will assist you with your addictions, but we also offer long-term recovery programs. If you or a loved one are in need of a Tennesse alcohol addiction program, contact Discovery Place at 1-800-725-0922.
