Loving Those Struggling with
Substance Use Disorder and Recovery

The rollercoaster ride is unending.

Dawn has come after another sleepless night waiting for them. Is that a key in the latch, a car pulling up, or a phone vibrating not to wake anyone else?

Morning dawns, responsibility stares you in the face, and you must get on with it. Wiping the grit out of tired eyes, you think, “Did I sign up for this?”

As the day passes and you don’t hear a word, your brain imagines car crashes, emergencies, and worse as you become increasingly exhausted from the emotional rollercoaster in your head. You swing between worry and anger – back and forth.

This time is the last one. You know this time was the worst. Your partner or loved one promised it wouldn’t happen again, and you desperately want to believe them.

Nobody understands.

When you recount the story to your friend on the phone and hear the long pause, you wonder, “Did I imagine the pause?”

You’ve turned into someone you promised you wouldn’t be. “Not me; I wouldn’t allow someone to treat me like that.” But here you are, hiding it from others and ashamed to be one of those women always waiting, believing the unbelievable.

But somehow, the story they told you doesn’t quite make sense.

They’ve recovered, but have you?

Whether it is a child, parent, partner, husband, or wife, life alongside those who struggle with substance use disorder wears us down. Are we to blame? Could we have done something different?

Even when those in our lives manage to transition from active abuse to recovery, the pain still exists. Therapeutic work is needed to help us regain our sense of self and stability.

How do we continue or rebuild if they have changed? How do we carry on if they have not?

Help exists!

Therapy will help. Understanding the abuse of substances, our connection to it, and how to move forward healthily is paramount to your survival and happiness.

Setting clear boundaries and sustaining them, regaining your self-worth, and letting go of anger can lead you to emotional recovery and self-love.

Help yourself; you’re worth it. Call today!