9 Steps to Successful Relationship Repair

Most people see how their relationships impact their quality of life, but sometimes this gets muddied when addiction is part of the picture. Some of these relationships can be helpful to us, some of them can be harmful to us in certain ways, and some can be both. We tend to focus mostly on romantic and family relationships, but other types of relationships can have a big impact on your recovery efforts as well.

If you receive an encouraging response of any kind, continue the conversation until you feel it’s right to suggest meeting up to apologize and make amends. If not, give your loved one time to process the information and wait until they’re ready to connect with you. Sometimes confessing the mistakes you made while abusing substances will hurt your loved one even further. You might not want to disclose details that can cause pain and suffering, and you may also need an outlet for your emotions. Keeping a journal allows you to write down things you might not want to say to your friend or family member. Here are some key concepts to keep in mind when repairing your relationships in recovery.

Pain Medication and Addiction

Making amends, forgiveness, and accepting that trust will come with time to those who are patient. Staying clean in and of itself builds trust— one of the biggest amends is just living well and staying clean. There’s a lot of shame and vulnerability with recreating relationships in recovery relationships with people who have cut us off. Fear of rejection and the embarrassment of having to face the consequences of your actions can keep people from taking that step. Follow through with your promises and make it clear you’re doing so.

Professional family or marriage therapists are available to help navigate and coach people in recovery on how to rebuild trust with their spouse or partner. Addiction may drastically change https://ecosoberhouse.com/ how one partner views the other. With professional help, conversations about what it means to be in a relationship with someone in recovery can be a learning experience for both parties.

Tips for Regaining Trust

That being said, your most important priority needs to be protecting your recovery. This means taking care to not put yourself in situations where your recovery is likely to be at risk. When you enter recovery, it’s natural to want to repair this damage as soon as possible, and your impulse might be to try to do just that. However, attempting quick fixes is rarely helpful and almost never works well. It’s important to remember that you don’t have to go through this alone. There are tips and resources available to help you along your SUD and relationship recovery journey.