How Does Addiction Affect The Family?

The entire family feels the effects of addiction. Each family unit and family member is uniquely affected by substance abuse in the family, but there are certain concerns they tend to share.

Effects on a family may include impaired attachment, economic hardship, legal problems, and emotional distress.

Treating the person living with addiction without the involvement of family may limit the effectiveness of treatment due to leaving family members untreated and not recognizing the family as a support system for change.

The Behavioral And Emotional Impact Of Addiction On Families

Addiction has an emotional toll on the individual and their family members. Feelings of anxiety, shame, guilt, and worthlessness become worse as dependency develops.

When a family has a loved one living with addiction, family members may experience feelings such as anger, guilt, helplessness, depression, and shame.

Addiction may also impact your loved one’s behavior and their personality traits. They may become paranoid, aggressive, desensitized, or show other behaviors that are uncommon for them.

This may lead family members to feel confusion, embarrassment, or cause them to want to distance themselves from their loved one.

How Addiction Affects Family Communication

Each family’s communication is unique; however, addiction has been shown to impact family communication negatively.

Addiction primarily affects an individual’s ability to communicate clearly. Drug use may lead to mental fog, irritability, and a sense of urgency, which can affect their ability to communicate.

It is also common for people living with addiction to isolate themselves. Attempts to distance themselves from family and friends who care can further contribute to ineffective or strained communication.

Changes in the affected person’s behaviors and actions may also lead to direct conflict with some members of the family unit, straining the rest of the family’s ability to communicate effectively.

The Financial Consequences Of Addiction For Families

The financial costs of addiction can be high for both the individual and the family.

To continue to fuel their addiction, individuals may steal or make harmful financial decisions, which will affect everyone involved, especially the children of the person with the disorder.

These financial difficulties may be compounded by trouble maintaining employment and legal costs, leading to further financial troubles in the family.

Addiction And Role Reversal In A Family

Addiction may lead to role reversals within the family. Children of parents with a substance use disorder may take on a parental role to care for their parents or other children in the family.

This role reversal also forces children to grow up early and requires them to become self-reliant at an early age and take on adult responsibilities.

Also known as parentification, the process of forcing a child to act in an adult capacity can have lasting effects on them.

The long-term effects of parentification due to parental substance abuse include:

• the development of mental health disorders
• an inability to set healthy boundaries
• harmful relationships with future romantic partners
• low self-esteem
• future substance use

The Mental Health Impact Of Addiction In A Family

When a loved one is living with addiction, family members can experience feelings of fear, anxiety, embarrassment, or abandonment, which can lead to negative mental health impacts.

Around 30% of family members who have a loved one living with substance abuse have a mental health disorder.

The Generational Effects Of Addiction

The children of people with a substance abuse disorder are much more likely to have a substance abuse disorder themselves.

While research shows that genetics are responsible for 50 percent of the risk of alcohol or drug dependence, growing up in a household affected by addiction is, arguably, an even more important factor.

There is a threefold risk for alcohol abuse and a two-fold risk for substance use among relatives of alcoholics versus those with no family history of alcohol use.

Get Help For Your Family At Bedrock Recovery Center

If someone in your family is living with addiction, we can help. Contact Bedrock Recovery Center to learn how we can help your family recover from addiction.