Drug addiction can create destruction in all areas of your life, as well as the lives of your loved ones. Your family dynamics may be greatly impacted, causing damage that can not be easily repaired. This is because, addiction is a disease that does not only affect the addict themselves, it affects nearly everyone you are in contact with, especially your family and friends.

How is your family affected?

When abusing drugs you do not stop to reflect on your actions, choices or the consequences of them, this causes conflict and trauma in your personal relationships that may not be repairable.

The Time, Energy and Focus of an Addict

Your addiction to drugs has consumed a large portion of your time, energy and focus, making obtaining drugs and using your top priority. You have kept such a strong focus on obtaining and using drugs that it has left little time to spend with your family and friends. This may leave your loved ones feeling a large variety of emotions towards your drug use; resentment, bitterness, hurt and even jealous. You may notice that you have had increasing numbers of arguments with your loved ones, your relationships are beginning to grow apart because you have been putting drugs ahead of your family.

Financial Stress

Addiction can cause a great financing issue in the lives of the addict themselves, as well as their family members. You have been spending any money you can get your hands on to score more drugs, funding your habit and causing your family to go broke. You can easily spend hundreds, if not thousands of dollars fueling your drug habit in as little as one day or a short binge.
Your addiction to drugs may be so severe that you are no longer able to function in the workplace, causing you to lose your job. These creates a bigger burden on your spouse or partner as they are then required to solely provide and care for the rest of your family, as well as for you.
Far too many families have been faced with the decision of bankruptcy, foreclosure, losing their life’s savings, retirement savings and so on due to their loved ones addiction. Your drug addiction is greatly affecting the welfare and well-being of your family on a long term basis.

When Children are Involved

Drug addiction can cause serious emotional damage for your children. Your drug abuse may cause you to become violent, emotionally abuse your children or even sexually abuse them, causing damage that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.Many children of addicts suffer from long term emotional and psychological damage that causes serious affects on their social stability, as well as their education and mental health.
Using drugs has caused your children to lose respect for you as you are no longer reliable, hurting yourself and them. Your home may be lacking structure and rules, causing your child to turn to a life similar to your own as an escape from pain in their reality. With such insecurity your children may even begin to blame your drug use on themselves, causing further mental and emotional damage.
Government studies show that an estimate of 50-80% of child abuse and neglect incidents are a result of the parent (or parents) being involved with drugs or alcohol.

Your Spouse or Partner Suffers too

Your addiction may have lead to spousal of partner abuse; physical and emotional. This can have devastating effects on your relationship. Many intimate relationships suffering through drug addiction can lead to cheating or seeking other forms of satisfaction outside the relationship by the addict, who then justifies their actions. Your loved one may sympathize with you, however this is purely manipulation and excuses on your part to justify you destructive behavior.
An estimated 75% of domestic violence incidents occur as a result of one or more of the individuals involved having used drugs or alcohol

Risking Your Health and the Health of Others

Drugs can impair your judgement, this may cause you to take part in risky sexual behavior which puts you in great risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases. When you have a partner or spouse back home you are then putting their health at risk of contracting these STD’s.
If you use intravenous drugs and needle share you are putting yourself and others at great risk of contracting blood borne diseases that too can transmit to your partner. These diseases that can be contracted through needle sharing can cause you or your loved ones to becoming very ill, potentially killing them, causing an increasing amount of stress on your family.

The Effects of Your Addiction

The effects of drugs on your family may lead to separation or divorce with your spouse or partner. It can cause an unstable environment for your children, causing emotional and psychological damage. You may suffer serious financing difficulties. Your health may even begin to deteriorate.
The impact of drug addiction is only causing damage in your life and the lives of your loved ones. It is time to seek help and start your recovery, for not only yourself but for your family as well.
www.solutionsrehab.com   Article by Addiction Solutions of south Florida 1 (800) 476-1801