Many people have been through a period in their lives where their addiction begins to take hold and have more control over what they do and how they behave than they do themselves. Addiction can completely overwhelm the person that you are, turning you into a stranger in the eyes of your friends, your family, and even yourself. When alcohol or drugs play a critical part in your life, you may feel as though the only important factor is when you’re going to get your hands on your next drink or hit.
Addiction can come in many forms, some people over eat, over drink, smoke, do drugs or gamble. These behaviours can begin to take control of various aspects within our character that prevent us from achieving our full potential. That’s where facilities such as The Recovery Way can help to turn our lives around again and help us find the person we want ourselves to be.
Table of Contents
How addiction affects us
Mentally, when we are addicted to a substance, it changes the way we feel, the way we think, and the way that we live our life on a daily basis. In some cases, addiction can literally stunt the process of growth within an individual, causing us to remain selfish, childish, and completely oblivious to the needs of the people around us. We may lose ourselves in denial, finding countless ways to justify our terrible behaviour to the people around us while addiction continues to overwhelm our lives.
Emotionally, the addict can become incredibly defensive to people who attempt to take him or her away from the object which they desire, and they can have a difficult time properly expressing their emotions or supressing negative behaviour. Low self-esteem can make them prone to finding faults in other people in an attempt to get the attention away from them.
How addiction affects our Families
Alcohol and drug addiction doesn’t just affect the person who is addicted, it affects all of the people around him or her as well, to various extents. Family members and those who love the addict dearly struggle to find ways to help the individual in need, and in some cases they become enablers, pretending that there isn’t a problem in an attempt to keep things feeling normal. Unfortunately, when someone is suffering from addiction, the people that they love can bear the brunt of the abuse that individual deals out, as they have to deal with:
- Neediness
- Anger
- Selfish behaviour
The best thing that any loved one can do for an addict is find them the help and support they need to truly move past their addiction and regain control of their lives by enrolling them into a rehabilitation centre.
Author bio: Susan Flane has worked in various rehabilitation centres during her lifetime after three years volunteering within several addict outreach programs. In her spare time, she dedicates herself to finding help for those who need it and sharing information about the pain of addiction.
