Addiction as a Family Disease

Addiction can be a complex concept. It takes many forms, including alcohol addiction, substance use, and other unhealthy behaviors.

Addiction extends beyond the individual’s experience with a specific behavior. Not only does it impact their life, but as a chronic condition, it can have a profound effect on the family. As addiction progresses, it can weave a web of emotional, relationship, and psychological challenges.

Thankfully, addiction is an entirely treatable condition. The key is understanding what is causing the addiction to occur and gaining awareness of the extent of its reach.

Familial Dysfunction

In a family setting, when one person begins struggling with addiction, everyone becomes impacted. There’s the obvious challenge for the person experiencing the addiction. Aside from that, each member lives through their own experience with said addiction.

Adaptive behaviors are developed, and coping mechanisms are established. Each of these can potentially harm the overall situation.

Adaptations can include codependency, suppressing emotions, poor communication, and enabling behaviors. The family dynamic can also create increased stress and anxiety, which itself can exacerbate matters.

The Emotional Impact

When you’re the one living with addiction, you may experience a toxic cycle. You find comfort in the behavior of choice, which you probably have difficulty finding elsewhere. As you come down to a normal state, the good often gets replaced with feelings of guilt. You return to that comfortable state of the substance or behavior.

For family members of the person struggling with addiction, as mentioned, there is a heightened level of stress and anxiety. They may experience depression from watching the addiction occur in their loved one.

They also go through periods of guilt and shame. Did they do something wrong? Were they responsible for aiding the addiction? Why are they not able to fix the situation?

Over time, their addiction can become emotionally draining for the family members. Depending on how personal relationships and dynamics change, the family can go through their own trauma.

Familial Influence

Like many health conditions, whether physical or mental, addiction can have a genetic component. You’re predisposed to addiction through genetics.

There’s also a higher likelihood for someone to develop addiction when another family member has gone through their own experience. They watch a loved one go through substance use or demonstrate certain behaviors, and it can become a learned pattern for them.

If family was the result of a childhood trauma, then that experience can lend itself to developing unhealthy coping mechanisms. One of which is addiction.

The Family Roles for Addiction

You have the individual with the addiction who is the main focal point of the dynamic. When you’re the one struggling with addiction, you may or may not realize there is a problem or the extent of the destructive behaviors.

Then you have the enabler role. Typically, this person tries to protect their loved one. This could be through making excuses for behaviors, buffering any consequences, or downplaying the issue.

You also have a hero, who tries to keep the family together and the reputation positive. They take on the burden of the problems and attempt to overcompensate for other shortcomings.

Additional family roles can include a scapegoat (who deflects attention), a lost child (who withdraws from family conflicts), or a mascot (who uses humor to hide or may develop their own unhealthy mechanisms).

The Journey to Recovery

Addiction recovery is a long-term journey and requires all hands on deck. There are many pieces to treatment and recovery, including different approaches.

Individual and family therapy are highly beneficial in uncovering root causes and working to establish healthy coping mechanisms to manage stress. Support groups are excellent for building a support system and learning from shared experiences.

Once you gain awareness that addiction is a family disease, you can start developing a holistic approach to healing. Remember, healing is possible; you just have to start. Contact us to take that first step!