Stepaway News Blog

Addiction and dependency can be shattering when it comes to relationships, it is however possible to rebuild trust.

At Step Away drug and alcohol addiction treatment centre in Port Elizabeth we like to focus on both the client and their loved ones. We maintain the idea that substance abuse recovery is not only meant for the patient but also for their family members and close relationships.

Rebuilding relationships will take time and is best accomplished after recovery.

The battle against addiction of alcohol or drugs often has a vicious impact on the addict’s close relationships affecting their partners, parents, children, other relatives, and friends.

Negative behaviours of people battling substance abuse can cause major strain on families and communities. Behaviours of people who suffer from alcoholism or drug addiction often involve breaking the law, putting their family under financial stress, endangering themselves or the people around them.

As the substance abuser becomes less functional over time, their partner and those close to them have to take on more of that person’s responsibilities which can be taxing and cause feelings of bitterness and resentment.

At Step Away we subscribe to the view that drug and alcohol addiction recovery is meant to involve the entire family unit as well as close relationships. We believe that it is possible to repair broken and beaten relationships, “We see it all the time”.

Yes, repairing relationships takes time and patience and in the beginning there will be little to no -trust but that is to be expected. There have been lots of broken promises, hurt feelings, and deceptions.

Healing a relationship typically starts with the substance abuser because due to the nature of the disease, that person is responsible for the behaviours that have been the most destructive to the relationship.

It is difficult to heal a relationship without professional help, especially if the damage to the relationship has progressed quite a bit.

We advise professional help be used in these cases, Step Away drug and rehab in PE offers a safe, structured environment that is far removed from the client’s stressful circumstances that promote or fuel the urge to substance abuse.

Because these factors are removed from the client’s daily environment, they can begin to focus on learning life skills that had previously been hampered due to their addiction.

Change in a relationship, even good change, can be stressful and it will definitely take some adjustment. Our counsellors help to guide both the clients and their significant others in thinking about their own wants and needs in the relationship.

With hard work and trust from both the client and their loved ones, relationships can be repaired. It is possible move past resentment and hatred, and to once again live a life of mutual love and respect where there is stability and acceptance, and the ability to work through differences.