Addiction can affect your marriage in many ways, as well as your children’s lives. Even your friends and family can suffer because of the harmful effects of alcoholism. You might experience changes in personality, including frequent mood swings. Often, addiction leads to untrustworthy behavior, like lying or trying to conceal things from your family. It can also create financial stress for your family. And finally, long-term alcoholism is linked to many negative health outcomes, which can add stress to your family life. If you are struggling with addiction, there are resources available. Hopefully, finding the support you need to start your journey to sobriety will be the key to repairing damage in your marriage and social relationships.
How Addiction Can Affect Your Marriage: Long-Term Effects and Getting Help
Changes in Personality
One of the ways that addiction can affect your marriage is by changing your personality and behaviors. Alcohol addiction can often lead to issues with sleep and changes in diet. Because of this, you might experience intense mood swings. Irritability is also very common. Frequently being moody can add stress to your marriage and make your partner feel unsupported.
Loss of Trust
Along with personality changes, alcoholism often creates issues with trust. Addiction can affect your marriage if you are hiding the extent of the problem from your spouse. Lying to them about where you are or how much you’re drinking can lead to a loss of trust in your marriage. Additionally, it can lead to frequent arguments if they find hidden bottles or find out that you are not being truthful about the extent of your problem.
Financial Harm
Alcohol is expensive, so one of the ways that addiction can affect your marriage is by tanking your finances. Running up a bar tab every night, or spending exorbitant amounts of money on liquor can quickly rack up. If you suffer from the health consequences of alcoholism, the medical bills can also add up quickly. All in all, addiction can be an expensive habit, and financial stress can lead to a lot of issues in your marriage.
Health Effects
Finally, one of the most important and influential ways that addiction can affect your marriage is through negative health effects. Long-term addiction is linked to issues with heart health, internal organ damage, memory, and cognitive losses, and even cancer. Your loved ones will certainly be affected if you develop any dangerous medical issues because of the drinking. Not only will they have to deal with the emotional consequences, but also the medical bills for treatment.
Addition can affect your marriage in many negative ways. It can lead to a lot of stress and anxiety for your spouse, children, friends, and other family members. You might experience irritability that can make things rocky with your spouse, as well as a loss of trust. You might experience financial stress as well as medical problems. All of this can put a lot of pressure on your marriage. If you are struggling with addiction, there are local resources there to support you. Check out rehabilitation centers near you or speak with your doctor about in-patient and out-patient treatment. You can also consider support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous or therapy. Hopefully, your spouse and family will be on board with supporting you through your recovery journey and will provide you with the encouragement you need to get sober.
