When talking about addiction within a relationship, most people think of one sober spouse and one who struggles with a substance use disorder. Relationships can survive when the person using substances seeks treatment. But substance abuse can also destroy families, and there is advice available about how to divorce a person with an addiction.
But what about the relationship in which both partners have a substance use disorder?
In America, 53 million people, or 19.4% of the population, ages 12 and older, admitted to using illegal drugs or misusing prescription drugs within the last year. The odds that a portion of this group consists of couples using drugs together is high.
If you and your spouse are using drugs together, then you are likely familiar with the problems this creates.
Substance Use Problems in Relationships`
When you have a substance use disorder, avoiding withdrawal symptoms takes priority over everything else. Seeking and using drugs is a cycle that interferes with all areas of your life. This leads to many problems, such as:
- Using substances might be the only activity you enjoy doing together
- Yelling, fighting, and domestic violence
- Starting to neglect household duties like cleaning or adequately taking care of children
- Participating in negative behaviors like stealing and lying to get money for drugs
Just because you and your spouse struggle with addiction doesn’t mean you don’t love each other. Your connection may still be strong, and you can get sober and live a happy life together.
So, what happens when a couple wants to save their marriage while also overcoming their substance abuse and mental health disorders? What is the best couples addiction recovery plan? Is getting sober together even possible?
Many detox and treatment facilities understand the need for couples drug rehab and its impact on the relationship and long-term recovery.
What Is Couples Rehab?
Couples rehab Florida is a place you and your partner go together to participate in programs that will break your addiction to drugs and teach you how to improve your relationship and support recovery. Couples rehab starts with both of you attending a medically supervised detoxification program.
In detox, a doctor will treat your withdrawal symptoms with medication, so you don’t have to suffer extreme cravings or physical discomfort while the toxins of the drugs are exiting your body. Detox helps clear your mind so you can focus on learning how to maintain sobriety together.
Following detox, you step down to other crucial services like inpatient rehabilitation, sober living, and intensive outpatient. You can also benefit from residential treatment for addiction.
In these services, you can receive behavioral couples therapy (BCT), which has been very successful for couples where both struggle with substance use.
Should Couples Attend Rehab Together?
You and your partner have been through everything together, including the damages caused by using drugs. You agreed to be together, in sickness and in health. Right now, you are going through an illness.
Getting treatment together can help you enjoy more times together in good health. Couples rehab offers many benefits for your relationship.
Benefits of Couples Rehab
Throughout your time in a drug rehab center for couples, you will recognize the advantages of entering recovery together, like the following:
- Therapy can eliminate codependence or enabling behaviors
- Teaches you how to offer positive support
- You learn how to keep each other accountable
- You know how to cope with potential mental health issues rather than self-medicating
- Improved communication, conflict resolution, and esteem-building skills
Over time, you and your spouse will notice a shift from worrying and wondering if relapse will happen to feeling confident in each other and in your marriage.
While the pros of couples rehab far outweigh the cons, you should consider a few things before seeking treatment together.
Things to Consider for Couples Going to Rehab Together
Going through detox at a couple’s drug rehab together will enrich your relationship. After detox, when you both start working on your personal and relationship issues, you may need to attend therapy alone. Some examples include:
- If you each have mental health disorders that differ. For example, if you have bipolar disorder and your spouse has obsessive-compulsive disorder, it would not benefit you, at the beginning of recovery, to participate in their treatment.
- If either of you has medical issues that are best treated or stabilized in separate environments
- If there are severe domestic violence issues in which safety must be considered
Issues like these do not mean you can’t go to couples rehab together; it means the beginning of your treatment may be separate. The goal is to reunite you as healthy partners with a stronger union. Getting through recovery together means you have someone on your side who is supporting you through all the ups and downs of trying to maintain sobriety.
How Couples Rehab Can Help You Through Recovery
Recovery can be a lonely process if you don’t have the support of your spouse or other loved ones. Even when you have support, you may not have someone who truly understands what you have been through, what you have overcome, and how hard it is to stay sober.
Your spouse can, however.
A couple’s addiction recovery helps you create a better relationship for the future, without the involvement of drugs or alcohol. Together, you can work on your relationship by:
- Setting new, higher standards for your relationship and how you treat one another
- Setting new, positive goals, both short-term and long-term
- Creating an accountability plan
- Developing positive support systems for you as an individual and as a couple
- Establishing healthy boundaries
- Creating a healthy home life
- Focusing on self-care
Your sobriety must be your priority. When a couple is in recovery together, they understand and accept that this is necessary. Unless you are healthy, you cannot adequately help others. Maintaining your individuality in the future will prevent codependent or enabling behaviors from returning.
Taking care of yourself and your needs allows you to give support to your spouse. You can start taking care of yourself today by reaching out to a couples rehab for guidance.
Finding the Right Couples Rehab
When you start searching for the best drug rehab centers for couples in your area, look for the following:
- A detox program that provides medically supervised treatment to you and your spouse at the same time
- Access to doctors, nurses, and therapists during your stay
- Access to computers and cell phones so you can stay in touch with children or other family members
- A program that allows visitors
- A program that offers the most well-rounded treatment programs, including alternative therapies like acupuncture, yoga, individual and group meetings, and complete medical assessments.
Seek help from the right detox center for you and your spouse. Visit Summer House Detox Center at 13550 Memorial Highway, Miami, Florida 33161. Or, give us a call at 800-719-1090. We are available 24/7 and are ready to help you overcome addiction as a couple.
