Codependency and Substance Use Disorder

“Self-care is how you take your power back.”
– Lalah Delia

The drama is exhausting.

You take on “fixing” the lives of those around you, trying to rescue the people you care about from the logical consequences of their actions – or, more accurately, inactions.

If you didn’t step in, everything would fall apart.

How guilty would you feel if you just let everyone suffer like that?

You spend vast amounts of energy trying to hold everything together.

Shame keeps us lonely.

The part of you that practices co-dependence with substance use disorder is a part that you find shameful.

You feel guilty, sometimes, for reasons you don’t fully understand, causing you to keep it hidden and out of the public eye.

The fear is that if others see you for who you are, you will be humiliated, embarrassed, rejected, and unloved.

The problem is that you are never really accepted or loved for who you are because you show the world a false face.

It’s a trap.

We hear all the time that substance use disorder is a disease.

This statement is true as far as it goes, but unfortunately, it doesn’t tell us how to deal with it or face the truth about our actions and what we have done to ourselves and others.

We are not victims and must find a way to face our character flaws. The hard part of recovery is not ending our use. It’s learning the skills of ownership and accountability.

We can’t do it alone because we can’t see into our “blind spots.”

It’s time to reverse the cycle.

Whether it’s the codependent desire to prevent pain in those we love or the addict’s desire to get another fix, the pattern is the same: Short-term avoidance of pain creates a long-term decline in our well-being.

The good news is that the reverse is also true. Let me show you how to change your thinking and replace the cycle with growth and self-development.

Mindfulness, self-regulation, and assertiveness skills are just the beginning!

Call (509) 220-1564 for a 15-minute consultation and begin your journey.