Has your past rehab experience been a bust? Did you return home after an outpatient stint only to fall back into your old habits? Maybe one of the problems is a co-dependent relationship that rehab never adequately addressed. What is codependency and how can an inpatient rehab facility stay help you to make necessary changes?

What is Codependency Behavior?

Your partner or spouse may lack self-esteem. To find validation, s/he looks to you for approval. But because you’re using, you’re not focusing on the needs of your home. Therefore, your significant other will channel attention and effort at making you happy to receive some form of validation.

Symptoms of a Codependent Relationship

The other person doesn’t acknowledge that you have a substance abuse problem. S/He might use euphemisms and quietly clean up evidence of the behavior. There are no confrontations in the home. Instead, s/he will valiantly deny that there’s any problem in the relationship, with your drug use, or in the home.

At first, the other person tries to take care of you and help you to get better. However, at some point in the relationship, there’s a significant shift. The co-dependent individual now becomes the enabler and will encourage your addiction. Doing so provides the spouse or partner with an unhealthy validation and feeling of meeting your need.

For the person struggling with a drug problem who has completed rehab, returning to this type of relationship is dangerous. The other person’s need for approval will go into overdrive. S/He may suggest that you have “just one” drink after a rough day. S/He may encourage drug use to unwind.

Before you know what happened, you relapse.

Preventing the Relapse

Your best solution to codependency is extensive family counseling while in rehab. Your loved one needs treatment to deal with past traumas that caused her or him to learn this behavior pattern. Undergoing an inpatient rehab is a vital component of the treatment. You need to leave home to gain perspective.

At a rehab facility, there should be a fully functioning family program that helps you and your partner or spouse to heal. Examples of modalities include:

• Family member talk therapy with your counselor for a better understanding of the dynamics of your relationship
• Support group meetings that introduce your loved ones to others who also have family members in rehab
• Educational workshops that help your loved one understand the destructive nature of codependent behavior and enablement
• Goal setting that allows you to focus on sustained recovery with life skills training and family intervention
• Multi-tiered treatment intensity that helps you and your loved one make progress in the home as well as during recovery

When you’re ready to get this level of assistance with a codependent relationship, Steps to Recovery can help. Caring therapists understand the destructive nature of what is codependency how to treat it. Don’t risk your health and life by continuing an addiction. Call 267.719.8528 today for immediate assistance.