The person who is actively taking drugs is causing mental and physical harm to himself or herself; because of the turmoil that surrounds the person who is abusing substances, it may be difficult to evaluate the damage they do to others around them. While one spouse may be dealing with the physical and mental symptoms of addiction, the non-using partner may be dealing with comparable issues as a result of the stress and isolation that addiction may bring.

Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Aro... Silky Terrier Dog Breed Playing Around

As they try to hide the extent of their abuse, the addicted individual will become increasingly secretive and untrustworthy. The non-using partner frequently becomes suspicious, upset, and sometimes furious as time goes on. As the situation worsens and illusions of control are broken, optimism for a relationship’s future seems to fade. During this period, couples may decide to split or seek divorce advice.

During the cycle of addictive behavior, many couples will break up at some time. While it may seem counterintuitive to leave a spouse in active addiction, we have discovered that these separations are often catalysts for the using partner to seek treatment and recovery. It is a sad reality of addiction that many people will have to go through the agony of losing everything before they would surrender or seek treatment.

Addiction creates turbulent conditions that are frequently perfect for codependency to flourish. The non-using spouse will usually feel an inappropriate amount of obligation to the individual in active addiction throughout drug usage. Codependency is an addictive relationship that may take various forms, according to Dr. Kristie Slinskey. “Lying to cover for a partner’s behaviors, supporting substance use by providing financial aid either directly or indirectly (i.e. one partner pays the mortgage, allowing the other partner to spend a paycheck on using), or even excusing dangerous or criminal behaviors to avoid upsetting the using party” are all signs of codependency, according to her.