When addiction ruins a marriage

Addiction is often one of the top factors that leads to the end of a marriage. Whether one partner has an addiction to drugs, alcohol or something else, it strains the relationship. Without any kind of intervention and treatment, many marriages cannot survive addiction.

Everyone suffers when a family member has an addiction. The other spouse and the children will both feel the effects of the unhealthy environment. According to New Beginnings, it is very difficult to repair a marriage or to protect children when one spouse has an addiction and will not seek treatment. Without a commitment to getting help, divorce is often the best solution.

Enabling prolongs the issues

One of the primary reasons divorce may be the best option when one spouse has an addiction is that often, the other spouse acts as an enabler. Enabling behavior can be damaging to both spouses.

According to Psych Central, it can be challenging for people to understand the difference between supporting a spouse and enabling destructive behaviors. To help a spouse, someone may provide encouragement or assistance in fighting the addiction.

Enabling, on the other hand, may take the form of passively accepting the addiction or taking on the consequences so the addicted spouse does not have to suffer them. An enabler may lie for the addicted spouse or make excuses for him or her to other people.

Often, it is not possible to rescue people from themselves. Staying with a spouse may be the worst thing someone can do if the spouse will not accept support and refuses to acknowledge the consequences of the addictive behaviors.

Enabling causes imbalance in the relationship

When one spouse enables the other, it alters the balance of the relationship, which can lead to resentment and other negative feelings. The spouse without an addiction may become exhausted and frustrated trying to maintain the relationship alone.

Sometimes the only way to achieve peace and safety is to end the marriage.