Millions of Americans experience substance abuse problems. Drug use is turning into an epidemic in the US. It affects an individual’s physiological well-being, their psychological and emotional states. There’s much data on how drug use affects families.
Drug use not only affects the individual but also the family even more. Addiction and family have a unique relationship that is minor to the substance abuser. This article will discuss how drug use affects families.
The Relationship Between Drug use and family
When there’s a family member who is a drug user, they tend to be issued within that family. Even the strongest relationships can experience conflict due to drug use. The addict’s family understands that the drug user doesn’t know what he/she is doing. This empathy results to support, love, and encouragement for the drug user.
However, most drug users don’t see empathy as a way of love and instead respond negatively. These negative emotions can unhealthily influence family ties. Here are some serious ways in which drug use affects families.
- Loss of Trust
Most drug addicts will understand how drug use affects families. Recurrent drug users are less likely to respect agreements or promises with family members. The effects of constantly consuming drugs make you a slave to them. That’s why most drug users choose drugs over families.
There may also highly forget about their family virtues. Long-term drug users will have a hard time bonding with other individuals. This is partly because of their lack of trust in other people. This loss of trust often results in broken families and depression.
- Increased Stress
Addicts usually become lazy to the extent that they just sit and take drugs all day. There is a high chance that the addict becomes irresponsible, leaving all the responsibilities to their partner. The partner currently becomes an enabler.
Paying all the bills, making decisions, raising the kids, and doing house chores. While the partner tries to help the addict, the addict still doesn’t care. This exposes them to the possibility of contracting stress-induced conditions like high blood pressure.
Moreover, people who fail to expose their stress tend to bring out all their emotions at once. This can result in more issues in the family.
- Financial Problems
Financing an addiction has a deep effect on your bank account. Furthermore, the substance abuse problem will also make individuals lose their job. Addicts who consume drugs during work may also lose the chance of getting a good job. When this occurs, they’ll turn to family savings to buy drugs. This is one of the major ways how drug use affects families. Consequently, the family will start having issues paying for necessities.
The addict may also get into legal issues such as driving under the influence of drugs. The costs of these types of arrests are high leading to an even bigger financial problem.
Enablers may even offer funds for alcohol or drugs to help the addict. This not only reduces the enabler’s finances but also makes the addict dependent.
Drug use makes the addict irrational and puts everyone around them on edge. This means that simple misunderstandings can cause big fights. Drug addicts tend to misunderstand everyone.
Since drug addicts tend to act out of character, they tend to get physical. This type of abuse adds to the current emotional abuse. While addicts cause abuse, their vulnerability also makes them likely to become victims of abuse too.
Bottom line
There are many ways in which drug use affects families. Even children of addicts may become addicts too. If your family member is an addict, you must act out to save the person. Abuse and addiction are deadly cycle that is curable by treatment.
