How to Confide in Your Partner About Your Addiction

Addiction and relationships are often intertwined in one way or another. If you are battling addiction, your personal and romantic relationships will most likely feel the effects. It’s not uncommon for various relationships to crumble underneath the strain of addiction, especially if dishonesty is involved. 

Being in a romantic relationship with an addict is hard, and people who have been there in the past and are reading this now would probably agree. One of the reasons it’s particularly difficult is because it can be hard to see how your actions affect someone else while you’re under the influence. 

If you’re currently in a romantic relationship and are struggling with addiction, it doesn’t have to ruin your relationship. Confiding in your partner and expressing the desire to get help with your addiction will show your commitment to the relationship by wanting to help yourself, and can ultimately strengthen your bond! 

Does Addiction Affect Relationships?

When drugs and other addictive substances take center stage in your life, it’s common for you to experience a domino affect. Below are a few ways an addiction can negatively impact a romantic (or platonic) relationship: 

• Physical and Verbal Abuse 

One of the major side effects of substance abuse is heightened, aggression, rage, and mood swings. When coupled with the resentment and anger from your partner, all it takes is a tiny spark for things to get out of control. 

Addiction and relationships make for an unstable environment, especially when kids are involved. In milder cases, the abuse is limited to verbal slurs designed to degrade the other partner. 

However, it is possible for verbal slurs to escalate quickly to domestic violence, which can even be fatal at times. Not to mention extremely traumatic. 

• Lack of Trust 

Trust is the essence of every relationship. Even friendships. And when addiction and substance abuse comes in between, lies and deception could creep in. Addicts often hide their addiction from family, friends, and loved ones due to fear of judgment, amongst other things. 

Lying, pulling away, and deception are some of the ways an addict hides their addiction. These actions will directly affect your partner. 

• Heartbreak 

Doing things you normally wouldn’t is another side effect of addiction. While under the influence, there is potential for an addict to do hurtful things, such as steal, cheat, ignore their partner, and put themselves / their partner at risk of injury. Ultimately these actions can lead to serious heartbreak for both people. 

Why You Should Tell Your Partner About Your Addiction

Telling your partner about your addiction is important, especially if you want to stop using drugs or alcohol. It takes a lot of courage to seek help, and talking about your struggles with addiction is a good place to start. It will also provide some insight to your recent behavior. 

Tips on How to Confide in Your Partner

If you make the brave decision to let your partner know you are battling an addiction, below are a few tips on how to get the conversation started: 

• Be honest

You probably don’t want to downplay or exaggerate how bad your addiction is, this is the time to be honest. You can also mention what some of your triggers are (if you know what they are already). 

• Educate them 

Being in a relationship with an addict doesn’t mean your partner knows a lot about addiction. During this time, you can educate your partner when telling them about your addiction and experiences using drugs or alcohol. A lot of people have preconceived notions on what addiction looks like, and it isn’t always accurate. 

Remember that you can’t control their reaction after confiding in them. They might feel sad at first, or not know how to react, but always know that it will get better.  In time, they’ll show you their love and support. 

Getting Help With Your Addiction

After confiding in your partner about your addiction, a next great step to take is to seek help. There is a lot to consider when choosing a treatment center. Some things to keep in mind when doing this are:

• The treatment facility itself
• The programs they offer 
• Location 
• Cost 
• Gender preference, if any 

Get Help at Anchored Tides Recovery

Anchored Tides Recovery is a premium women-only addiction treatment facility located in Huntington Beach, California. We offer holistic and individualist treatment programs to all our patients to ensure guaranteed success. Contact us today and let us help you with your addiction.