How Divorce Impacts Your Addiction Recovery Journey - Daddy Tv

It is important for both parties to evaluate the role addiction has taken in the relationship. They should each look at the ways it has negatively impacted their health, their family’s finances and the stability of the home. If there are any children involved, it’s important to be aware of how the addiction has been detrimental to their well-being, too. Even if this is the case, the addicted individual should still strongly contemplate treatment.

• Litigated divorces are the most costly, both financially and emotionally.
• This may entail ordering the Dependent to submit to randomized drug and alcohol screenings, including hair follicle tests, or ordering the Dependent to comply with a substance abuse treatment program.
• I was still forced to coddle him—or so I thought—and support him, knowing he hadn’t (and wouldn’t) do the same for me.
• “Doing one thing a day that makes you feel productive and competent also reinforces your self-esteem at a time when your self-esteem often takes a huge blow,” advises Tucker.
• The journey of sobriety during such times becomes not just about avoiding substances but also about finding alternative ways to cope with these intense feelings.

Consider a co-parenting plan that ramps up timeshare when you hit milestones.

• Both addiction and divorce can have a significant impact on children.
• It made me feel so much shame and guilt, and all of those other feelings that come with divorce,” Howell said.
• He often expressed how he felt foggy and resented how it impacted our physical intimacy.
• The reality is that most litigated divorces “settle on the courthouse steps” and that only about 3 percent actually go to trial.
• Through counseling, your spouse may learn to acknowledge the strain their addiction put on your relationship and take concrete steps to mend them.

(In fact, he is closing in on his one year anniversary.) It was that I underestimated the power of the storm, the one raging inside of me. It was a storm which had been brewing for 10 years, but was always kept offshore thanks to divorce after sobriety circumstance, specifically, thanks to the distraction of his drinking. But with his sobriety came acceptance, healing and forgiveness. With his sobriety came spirituality and empathy, and with his sobriety would come an apology.

Sobriety and Single Parenthood: Balancing Sobriety, Parenting, and Dating After Divorce

All of these reactions and many more are natural when you’re going through a breakup or divorce. Maybe easier said than done, but embrace this change and new chapter in your life. After a divorce, you’ll go through an adjustment period, full of different stages and emotions. “Divorce feels so final that people are willing to try again and again,” she says.

Step 2: Consider Child Custody Arrangements and Child Support

My wife, on the other hand, was incapable of forgiveness because my apologies were so meaningless. They festered and metastasized and wreaked havoc on our marriage. The past had come back for vengeance on the present, and the only way forward for my relationship was to fully resurrect the pain and tell my wife how sorry I was all over again. We had survived alcoholism and faced the extreme likelihood of our marriage dissolving in sobriety. We were trying to get better, and everything was getting worse.

• Here’s a closer look at the impact of divorce on addiction treatment and recovery, along with tips for maintaining your sobriety during this difficult time.
• They fear being alone or never falling in love again.
• Addiction can affect virtually all areas of a person’s life.
• After a divorce, you may find yourself wondering how to spend your time.
• Without the proper support system, these substances can take center stage within a person’s life and quickly accelerate to addiction.

If you’re seeking support…

However, it might be helpful to seek guidance from a counselor to figure out how to broach this topic with your current spouse. Addiction doesn’t self-correct, and while threatening divorce may create greater urgency for your spouse, they may require greater intervention in order to seek help. The consequences of addiction on a marriage can vary according to the specific dynamics of a relationship, the type of addiction, how long your spouse has been struggling, and other factors. People living with addiction may neglect the needs of others, as well as their own, in order to continue engaging in unsupportive behaviors related to their addiction. You might find yourself struggling with a variety of emotions and second-guessing yourself. Having loved ones who are willing to listen and show compassion during this process can be incredibly beneficial.

Signs of Drug or Alcohol Addiction

This can be disruptive, even if the change made was positive. The caretaking partner in codependent relationships may also assume this unhealthy role in other relationships as well. But the stress that comes along with constant arguing can become a trigger for the person living with SUD to use drugs or alcohol. My wife, Sheri, and I, have recorded Untoxicated Podcast episodes about our relationship struggles, and they have both been downloaded over 400% more than our third top rated episode.

• But there was a lot they didn’t immediately understand.
• If your spouse is already addicted or diagnosed with SUD, professional medical treatment is crucial.
• These things may tempt you with the illusion of pain relief.
• You may have to find a new place to live or adapt to a new lifestyle.
• Today, Fresh Starts has between 50,000 and 70,000 monthly visitors.

Consider embracing alone time

Remind your kids often how much you love them and how proud you are of them. First, attending a family education program offered by a center while my husband was attending its residential program. Those three days informed my understanding of what was happening to Bill and us as a family unit. It reinforced the notion that sobriety was only the first step.

The antidepressant played havoc on his mind and body. He often expressed how he felt foggy and resented how it impacted our physical intimacy. The combination of these effects shattered his self-esteem. For almost a year and a half, we experienced a new kind of rollercoaster until he found the proper medication and acceptance of its place as part of his treatment.