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Families and Addiction

  • Reviewed by: Dr. Carl Williams, Ph.D., LCADC
  • Modified:
  • Reading Time: 9 minutes
  • Reviewed by: Dr. Carl Williams, Ph.D., LCADC
  • Last Update:
  • Reading Time: 9 minutes

Learn about the impact of addiction on families and learn how family involvement is crucial to the recovery process.

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The Impact of Addiction on Family Dynamics & Support Systems

Addiction In The Family

Family is where we expect a caring, supportive and nurturing environment. You will be suitable to expect accommodative and social responsiveness from those you consider family. Sometimes addiction happens, and your expectations are shattered.

Habit is using or taking something even though it could damage you. You can end up dependent on anything from shopping, social media, working, gambling, or technological gadgets. Usually, addiction is associated with drugs, including prescribed medication, alcohol, and nicotine.

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Families & Addiction

Social, Genetic, & Environmental Factors

Why Do People Get Addicted?

Social Influence

You are at a party, and everyone there is taking a stimulant. You experiment with a puff out of curiosity or the need to fit in. You feel euphoric, and you keep going back for more. Within no time, you cannot seem to function without the drug. You see nothing wrong because ‘everyone’ is doing it. You also have a source to quench the urge.

The same happens to social media addiction. You get pleasure every time you are on a social media site. Your moods are boosted every time you get a like, share, retweet, or viewing. The feel-good neurotransmitter called dopamine is triggered whenever you are on the internet. You constantly engage on social media at the expense of socializing in real life.

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Family Life

Biological or genetic factors also predispose a person’s likelihood of getting addicted. Some genes determine antisocial behavior in adults, alcohol, and illicit drug abuse, and the genes also determine the body’s metabolism of alcohol or drugs. People with the G Allele in the DNA code have more urge to drink alcohol and find it hard to repel alcohol.

Some factors are brought about by childhood development and adolescence. Child abuse and parental practices influence the behavior a child will likely adopt in the future. Traumatic events in early childhood expose a child to drugs and alcohol as an adolescent. Adolescents will probably be addicted to drugs, alcohol, gambling, or social media to escape the reality of their life or numb their feelings.

Environmental Influence

The surroundings that one is exposed to can determine the likelihood of addiction. A stressful environment will lead a person to seek ways to find relief. An environment that embraces alcohol or drugs will encourage the person to seek relief by partaking in the drugs or alcohol. If your family members take drugs, they can influence you to engage.

Friends on social media often post photos of alcohol and smoking at parties and homes. If you live in a neighborhood where taking drugs is normal, you will not see any harm in engaging in the same. Many young adults begin taking drugs and alcohol in college because of availability and normalization.

There are other causes of addiction. A quest to lose weight, increase performance, or do away with pain, can result in addiction. A sick person may be prescribed opioids for pain relief or stimulants for ADHD but misusing the medication results in a dependency. The intention is never to be addicted, but it happens.

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Recognizing the Early Warning Signs

Signs of Addiction

You may think your fix is within your control, and you can stop anytime. However, a person close to you may be observing a different person.

The following are some of the behaviors that indicate an addiction;

  • Changes in behavior and moods can range from extreme happiness to sadness, irritability, and interest.

  • Fatigue or hyperactiveness, red eyes, lack of sleep, and difficulty focusing.

  • Lack of interest in family, withdrawal, and lack of cooperation and alienation from members.

  • Change in dressing, and sometimes a person ignores their body hygiene.

  • Lack of control prevents you from staying away from the substance.

  • It was becoming careless even to yourself, for instance, drinking while drunk or sharing needles.

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Impact of Addiction on Personal, Family, & Community Well-being

Effects of Addiction

Having a loved one with a drug or alcohol addiction impacts negatively on the members. The repercussions affect the addict and the innocent bystanders.

Financial implications

Finances that would otherwise be spent on other beneficial engagements end up financing an addiction. An addict will even spend productive time feeding their addiction at the expense of working. You spend time drinking or on social media and lose your job. Efforts to fight addiction are costly and affect most families, especially when the remedies fail to work. Gambling addicts will finish a family’s wealth in no time.

Indifferences between members

In some cases, an addicted family member turns violent towards other members. The relationship meant to be tight gets eroded and leads to emotional detachment. Addiction affects married couples. An aggressive addict will cause psychological issues to the spouse, such as helplessness, fear, and hopelessness. Children in such unions end up neglected.

Judgment from the community

Unless you come from a society that understands and accepts that addiction is a disease, taking care of an addict is embarrassing. Most people will view an addict as having loose morals and lacking discipline and self-control. When you associate with an addict, you attract the same social shame. Parents of an addict are presumed to have failed in upbringing the child and enablers of the behavior.

Negative effect on others

A pregnant woman abusing alcohol or drugs risks affecting the baby in her womb; some of the effects last a lifetime. A smoker will expose others to risks such as lung cancer. Children raised in families with addicted members will involve themselves with the substance used. Addiction has a ripple effect not only on the user.

Changes in family functioning

Families with members suffering from addiction will sometimes find the roles changing to suit the situation. A father who is addicted and failing at providing basic needs for his family will force the wife of the eldest child to take on the mantle. The eldest child may be forced to mature faster and shoulder the father’s responsibilities. The wife may need to cover up for the father’s failure by taking on more obligations to keep the family afloat.

Feelings of disappointment

An addicted member will lie, steal and do anything to feed their addiction. A family faced with addiction will lose loyalty and resentment towards the addict. Efforts to intervene may fail, resulting in anger and loss of trust. It is hard to understand why a person is hurting the family.

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Effective Strategies for Supporting Family Members

How to Help a Family Member Fight Addiction?

  • Addiction is a chronic illness. You cannot sit back and fold your hands when a family member gets diagnosed with cancer, for example. The main help for an addict is to get their control back. To help a family member, you must acknowledge and confront a problem without judging or labeling the person. Sometimes you may need to distance yourself from the addict to avoid trouble. Please do these instead.

  • Point out the need for help to the addicted person. Most often, addicted people do not notice that they need help. Talk to your kin while they are sober, and explain why you think they need help. Guide your relatives somewhere to find the right tools for their healing. Unless you are a qualified psychologist, do not take on that role.

  • Help find the correct treatment. Recovery is a journey; each patient has their path; some need therapy, others need rehabilitation or hospitalization. You can help your loved one fight through withdrawal symptoms, attend family therapies together and support them when they feel it is too complicated and cannot do it anymore.

  • Stop enabling the behavior. Sometimes in an attempt to help, you may end up allowing the behavior to continue. You may be encouraged by covering up for the person, lying about their whereabouts, or giving them cash for something while you know they will end up buying the substance. Set limits and confront the addict with love and understanding. You may need to make tough decisions and stand by them.

  • Help the patient stay in treatment. Change the environment, or avoid anything that can activate or set off the behavior again. If it is an addiction to social media, find out why the person prefers social media contact. Please encourage them to stay away from gadgets and devices. If it requires behavioral change, support your family. Minimize exposure to items that enable the addiction.

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In Conclusion

The Crucial Role of Family in Overcoming Addiction

There is no denying that addiction profoundly impacts an individual’s family. Sometimes when the patient is on a recovery journey, relapse happens. It does not mean the person failed and you should give up. Recovery means that the person now changes from what they are used to and adopts a new lifestyle.

Change is not easy. Healing does not happen at once. Supporting the patient to stay on the course requires compassion and patience. It is essential to change the person from a user to a willing non-user. A person who feels forced or denied to use will change temporarily and will sooner look for a way to reward themselves in secret.

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Written By:

Geoffrey Andaria

Geoffrey Andaria mental health writer at rolling hills recovery center
Rolling Hills Recovery Center

Mental Health Writer

About Author:

Geoffrey Andaria is an experienced mental health content writer and editor. With a B.A. in English and Journalism, Geoffrey is highly educated in freelance articles and research. Having taken courses on social work, Geoffrey is adamant about providing valuable and educational information to individuals affected by mental health and the disease of addiction.

Medically Reviewed By:

Dr. Carl Williams Ph.D., LCADC

Carl Williams, medical content reviewer at rolling hills recovery center
Rolling Hills Recovery Center

Expert Contributor

About Reviewer:

Dr. Williams presently serves on the board of Directors for two non-profit service organizations. He holds a Master’s degree in Human Services from Lincoln University, Philadelphia, Pa, and a Ph.D. with a concentration in Clinical Psychology from Union Institute and University. In Cincinnati, Ohio. He is licensed to practice addictions counseling in both New Jersey and Connecticut and has a pending application as a practicing Psychologist in New Jersey.

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