Pain And Codependency In Addiction

Pain And Codependency In Addiction

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Pain is not just a physical symptom of addiction; it is related to psychological problem as well. If you are an addict or a member of the household is an addict, you feel as if you are failing in all aspects of life. The finances are draining, your family is falling apart and you stand by helplessly not knowing how to move forward. There is a tremendous amount of mental agony for which you need treatment. 

According to many pain management shawnee ks professionals, addicts and their family members need to be treated for internal pain more than the external pain. And they are well-prepared to handle the many challenges that addict bring to their clinics. For them, addiction treatment is a recovery process not just to treat the habit but the consequences of those habits as well. 

Let us look at another aspect of addiction that can lead to self-destruction. One of the major problems faced by family members of a person who is an addict is codependency. Codependency is where the addict or the family member depends on each other to keep the addiction going. It is a habitual pattern that seems to be loving and glory on the outside but is in fact counterproductive and dangerous for the long run. 

The addict in this situation often gets help from the codependent who will ignore the addict’s problems and tend to his or her needs even though it is inappropriate. The addict will depend on the member for everything from delivering the substance to fixing the consequence of the behavior. For instance, the addict may demand money which the codependent will non-reluctantly offer. The codependent will call in leaves, make excuses for the addict’s absence at work, bail him or her out of jail, and in general, clean up their mess. 

This behavior of enabling on the codependent’s part will make the addict continue to drink or use drug for a long time unless help is sought. The behavior of the family member may be active. For example, a parent may end up buying a new car for the adult child who is an addict after smashing the car in an accident. It can be passive, in the sense, the parents may ignore or pretend not to notice the behavior or their addicted son or daughter. 

Cynthia is a loving wife to her husband John, small business owner, who drinks alcohol everyday and has been doing so since seven years. Cynthia has been asking John to get counseling and treatment for his addiction numerous times but hasn’t been able to make time to call for help. John’s behavior doesn’t seem to stop anytime in the future. To make matter worse, Cynthia has started to handle the business herself when her husband couldn’t take responsibilities outside the home. As you can see in this scenario, codependency is not just the action arising from the addict’s side, rather a set of dysfunctional behaviors that are adopted in order to bring temporary relief to the existing situation.

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