Husbands and Wives
Who Suffers from Addiction?
Part 3
Anyone who has been married to a person with an addiction problem knows without any doubt at all that addiction is destructive to a marriage. For some, addiction existed before the marriage and for others, it developed after the vows were said.
Some people who previously suffered from addiction find they can straighten up their lives for a while, even years, out of a desire for marriage and family. Some will succeed permanently but many will lose the fight, the marriage, and the family when addiction reclaims them.
As substance abuse develops into addiction, it can take years for the sober spouse to figure out what is really going on. There are problems that can’t seem to be resolved. Jobs are lost, there is income missing, there may be car accidents or other injuries, there is usually terrible conflict in the home or long absences. In many cases, the sober spouse has been unable to resolve these situations because the real cause—addiction—is hidden out of sight.
An addicted person very often becomes a master manipulator. He (or she) has a lie ready for anyone who wants to know where he has been, where the money is going, why he has lost yet another job, who these people are that are coming to the house.
The addicted learn to turn the tables on the spouse who is asking questions. They learn to place the blame on the non-addicted, shaming them for not providing support or for failing to believe the addict’s outrageous lies. Out of love and a desire to help and trust his wife (or her husband), the non-addicted spouse can be caught in this web of lies over and over again.
When no other solution is available to a sober spouse, very often the only answer has been to leave to save himself or herself and any children.
Abuse and Crime Can Accompany Addiction
Some spouses will see the family fortunes disappear as all resources are funneled into the addicted person’s drug habit. The very unlucky ones will also be subjected to abuse. An alcoholic husband may lose all objectivity and begin to beat a wife or children. A methamphetamine-intoxicated wife may try to kill her children and husband during a meth-induced paranoia, as happened in Fresno, California in January 2012.
Financial ruin is common in families where someone is an addict. Addiction is a very expensive habit. Intense cravings compel a person to continue the habit, even when he (or she) wants to quit more than anything in the world. Cars, tools, jobs, careers, businesses, even the children’s toys under the Christmas trees may all be sacrificed. If all else fails, a person may turn to crime to support the addiction. Theft, drug dealing, and prostitution may be the result.
Before it ever gets this far, a very lucky addicted spouse has a husband or wife who finds Narconon.
The Solution Offered by Narconon Drug Rehab Centers
There are dozens of Narconon drug rehabilitation centers around the world. This is a different type of rehabilitation program, based neither on the administration of long-term subsitute drugs, nor on endless group meetings, nor on the admission that one will always be an addict.
The Narconon philosophy says that one can overcome addiction and make it a thing of the past.
In eight to ten weeks, for most people, an addicted person can overcome the cravings that keep him trapped in continuous searching for and use of drugs or alcohol. He can also find relief from guilt over the harm done to self and others. Seeing the restoration of her trusting relationships and knowing she has the skills to keep her life on a drug-free path helps eliminate any reason for depression.
Addiction can be overcome without reliance on substitute medications. It is not necessary to attend a long schedule of meetings. There can be an end to it and a return to a productive, enjoyable life. A husband can welcome back a wife and a wife can see the return of the man she loved and married.
Find out how this change can occur for someone you care deeply about. Call Narconon today and locate the Narconon rehabilitation facility nearest you.
See also:
- Who Suffers from Addiction? Part 1
- Who Suffers From Addiction? Part 2: Children who become Addicted
- Who Suffers from Addiction? Part 4: Employees and Employers
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