Toxic relationships develop over time as one or both sides engage in damaging behaviors, such as manipulation, physical and verbal aggression, and selfish acts. People who are codependent, engage in enabling behavior, or instill fear within you will not be beneficial to your recovery. Spending time with the wrong people may put you in harmful situations where your sobriety is tested. Unhealthy relationships can bring on unwanted stress, triggering cravings and negative thinking as well as self-doubt and resentment—all the necessary ingredients to make you vulnerable to relapse. In the journey of recovery, while most people will have a similar baseline experience (detox, treatment and then sobriety), each person’s lived reality is fraught with unique circumstances and struggles. You may find that your romantic relationships prove an asset in your recovery, or they may be a barrier to success.
Foster Healthy Communication Skills
On the other hand, as a self-protective strategy, these individuals may become less emotionally involved with their partners, which limits the risk of acute rejection experiences [7]. Identification of such tendencies is important, as they may undermine lasting closeness and intimacy [8, 9]. The current research examined the associations between rejection sensitivity and romantic relationships in recovery emotional responses after potentially hurtful interpersonal situations. The results suggest that rejection sensitive individuals do not report higher negative emotions when they perceive negative interactions. Moreover, rejection sensitive men and women did not remain longer in a negative emotional state after they perceived negative interactions with their partner.
Start your journey today
We are Central Pennsylvania’s leader in accredited addiction recovery care, recognizing the different challenges men and women face on their journey to recovery. The GateHouse is Central Pennsylvania’s leader in accredited recovery care, recognizing the unique challenges individuals face on their journey to recovery. For 50 years, we have helped individuals in our community restore their lives https://ecosoberhouse.com/article/how-to-stop-alcohol-shakes-tremors/ and rediscover the strength of the human spirit. Finding a partner is a perfectly acceptable goal once you are no longer suffering from acute substance use disorder. Also, remember to maintain daily habits and routines to improve your chances of success in recovery. Although a new relationship may be exciting, it’s still a good idea to stick to the behaviors that you know will keep you well.
What To Avoid When In A Relationship With A Drug Or Alcohol Addict
- She graduated from Texas Tech University with Bachelor degrees in Psychology, and Science in Human Development and Family Studies.
- So ultimately, while you may have overcome one form of drug addiction, substituting one addiction for another means you’ve basically ended up back where you started.
- This heightened state of vulnerability might lead to emotional dependency on the partner, where the individual’s mood and self-worth become overly tied to the dynamics of the relationship.
- People in recovery need to focus on their own needs first, vs. someone else’s.
This provides enough time to focus solely on their mental health and well-being while also learning how to deal with the emotional aspects of romance that can negatively impact the recovery journey. However, by engaging in such behaviours and choosing distance over closeness [4], such individuals may not benefit from their partner’s help in regulating their negative emotions [1]. In particular, if individuals feel chronically undervalued [7], these patterns may regularly repeat and accumulate. As a result, they may not show or report distress when faced with potential rejection [25]. While it’s best to wait until you’ve been sober for quite some time, dating in recovery can still work out. If you’re keen to move forward in a relationship, it’s important to let a counselor or a psychiatrist at the drug rehab know.