Families and Addiction – Codependency
Addiction is a family illness. When one family member struggles with addiction it affects the whole family. Millions of us from this type of family know this but we don’t always fully appreciate the ramifications this has for our own lives.
Trust is broken; hurt accumulates, anger grows and can erupt, spewing out emotional pain and regrets. You and the family may find yourselves protecting the addicted person, making excuses for them, covering up for them, and blaming them for your own unhealthy behaviour.
Without all the family getting help, the situation may never change, long term. Even if the addicted person gets help, all members need help. Whilst the addicted family member seeks help, sometimes the other family members continue to behave as they have always done so. This is beyond unhelpful.
For families to have the best chance of success, they need to work independently of each other.
This is where Coaching comes in. If you are in this situation with a loved one who has an addiction, or maybe you grew up in a household where there was an addiction, you might find working with a codependency coach helps address your issues right now.