An addiction to drugs or alcohol affects every single aspect of our lives, our physical & mental health, our careers and most importantly, the relationships we have with the people that love us the most, hence the reason why it is called a ‘family disease’.
During the time of the addiction, you may have hurt the people that love you the most and in some cases, the damage done may even be irreparable.
However, even though you hurt them and they might resent the things you’ve done to yourself and to them, deep down they will never stop loving and caring about you.
In this article, we’re going to tell you how to fix relationships after rehab.
Romantic Relationships
Whether it’s your husband, wife, girlfriend or boyfriend, the most important thing besides love in all of these relationships is trust, which may have been severed during the time of your addiction.
You could have broken your loved ones trust by lying to them, stealing from them or even physically or verbally abusing them. However, now that you are clean and sober, it’s your responsibility to win it back.
Become completely honest in everything you do and say, even if it means having to hear tough things. For example, if you have to work late and your partner wants to know, call them and inform them.
Start with the small things and remember that it won’t happen overnight. Trust takes time to rebuild.
Children
Children are often the ones that are disregarded when it comes to addiction, however the importance of mending the relationships with your kids is vitally important, as they are the ones that look up to and learn from you.
The trust between a parent and their child is extremely important and this often has an effect into what kind of adults they grow up to be. There are many ways to fix relationships with your kids, for example, start by keeping your promises. There is no bigger disappointment for a young person than to a have a parent that continually goes against their own words.
Speak to them and spend time with them as well, this will show them that you have changed for the better and that you are healthy and ready to look after them.
Friendships
During the time of your addiction, the relationships you may have had with your friends may have broken down completely. You might have neglected them in order to garner more time to use alcohol or drugs or worse, they might have been the ones that introduced you to the narcotic substances in the first place.
If your friends played a part in your alcohol or drug use, them it’s important to find new ones, as spending time with them may only trigger a relapse.
However, if you threw them to the wayside, lied to them or even stole from them like we mentioned above, the most important thing is to regain their trust and the best way to do this is by staying sober yourself. Show them that you have changed and that you are willing to become the person they loved.
Remember, whatever the relationship, time is the best healer! Make sure that you keep your side clean and you’ll see how everything will begin to fall into place.