Drug addicts’ spouses can have an enormous impact on both their substance abuse and recovery processes. In some situations, the spouse acts as a caretaker during treatment and rehabilitation. In other unfortunate cases, a spouse can be an enabler for an addict’s dangerous behaviors. Whatever the case may be, husbands and wives can make or break the recovery process for an addict seeking help.

The worst situation is when a drug addict or alcoholic’s spouse is a co-user. Most violence and sexual abuse between couples involve the use of drugs or alcohol, and it can be hard for either addict to escape this abusive relationship. In some cases, an abusive spouse may act as the main provider for the drug to which both parties are addicted. At other times, the victims of violence fear that if they seek addiction therapy, their co-abusing spouses will only respond with more violence. They also fear that their spouse will turn them over to the police if they attempt to seek treatment or leave. Ultimately, one spouse’s recovery often destroys the relationship. When the common bond of drug addiction is severed, there may be nothing left to support the marriage, whether it was abusive or not.

Another role which a spouse can unfortunately play is that of the enabler, someone who triggers the addict’s drug use. Enablers may buy drugs for their spouses, assuming that they’ll just get them elsewhere, anyway. Other enablers may make excuses or even tell outright lies about their spouse’s drug use in order to avoid legal trouble or the emotional intensity of facing the problem head-on.

Despite these negative effects spouses can have on addicts’ substance abuse, they are also critical to the recovery process. They often must take the first step and enroll their husband or wife in a treatment program. Since spouses are typically the most influential people in addicts’ lives, their unwavering support throughout treatment and rehabilitation can also make or break the success of the recovery.
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