How Couples Can Get Sober Together

They say misery loves company, but so does sobriety.
It is not uncommon for couples, whether married or not, to begin using drugs or alcohol together.
However, each person makes his or her own decision to use. It is possible to enter drug rehab together, and it is possible to overcome drugs and alcohol as a couple.
In short, you can overcome your addiction as a couple as long as both parties deal with the underlying cause of their treatment individually.
It’s Easy for Two People to Use Substances Together
It sounds like a strange thing to say. However, it is not uncommon for two people who live together or spend a lot of time together to participate in the same activities.
They are exposed to the same people, the same atmosphere, and even the same social network. Often, this facilitates a situation in which one person takes a step towards using drugs and alcohol, and the other follows.
Many factors contribute to the reason people begin using. Most often, social pressures create the opportunity. You and your partner are exposed to it, or one person leads the other to it.
Once this occurs, and both people begin using drugs or alcohol, it is tough to break that bond. Each party is dependent on the other not just to get high or to drink, but to keep doing so.
As long as one is using, the other will.
Consider just how easy it can be to fall down this path. Individuals also need to consider how hard it is to walk away from these substances.
- You both may not be on the same page or willing to stop.
- The severity of the substance addiction and its impact on your lives can vary.
- If your loved ones are using, it can be impossible to break their dependency on each other.
- You both have to fight the most formidable challenge of your life.
- One person may not have the same dedication or family backup to support the process.
Yet, it is possible. In many situations, individuals will find that working together is essential. It allows that dependency to change.
Now, you do not depend on the other person to facilitate drug use, but to keep each other sober. How do you get to that point, though? That’s the challenging part.
Realizing You Both Need Help
It is an incredibly positive step to decide to get sober together. Individuals who do this will find that they are stronger and healthier together.
Imagine how empowering it can be for your relationship if you both work towards the same goal, fight the same demon, and win the internal war.
Drug rehab centers can help individuals and couples to thrive through this process if they first:
- Realize they need to get help.
- Understand that they cannot do it on their own.
- Address their substance addiction and the causes of it.
Can you do this? Drug rehab is a big commitment, but couples who do it together may gain additional support from each other, sometimes even developing an incredible bond over the fight for health.
If you can pull together, enter the right drug rehab centers, and work to achieve this goal of detox and recovery, it can lead to numerous benefits in both of your lives impacting your:
- family unit, including children
- finances
- lifestyle choices
- careers
- education
- health
- families
Imagine for a moment how each one of these areas could change if you had the ability and dedication to get sober as a couple.
If one person in the relationship is not committed and suffers a relapse, the other person is at a higher risk for developing the same relapse. The actions of one can impact the other.
Deciding to Enter Rehab
As a couple, sit down and discuss what is happening right now. Think about all that is “wrong” with life right now? Do you struggle financially?
Do you feel ill without your next high? Do you go through the day waiting for your next drink? Spend some time working together to discuss the “what” of your lives right now.
- What is wrong?
- What caused it?
- What can be done about it?
- What do you want to happen long term?
Qualified drug and rehab centers can help you find the answers.
They can provide you with information and resources to learn what happens during recovery, what to expect individually, and what may happen in the long term.
They can give you the tools to move beyond what led you here. Drugs and alcohol do not have to control your future. It is entirely possible for couples who use drugs together to enter rehab together, and get sober together.
Breaking it Down: Individuals Need Attention Too
When you visit a recovery treatment center, even as a couple, you will quickly learn that you cannot do everything together.
Addiction recovery can be done by both people, but it is also a very individual process.
That is, what brought you to this point may have been the exposure at the same time, but the reason you continued to use drugs and alcohol may extend further. It’s essential to learn what the underlying cause is to each individual’s alcohol or drug abuse.
In the recovery treatment center, you will need to address your health and needs as an individual.
Even though some of the substance abuse treatment you receive will be couple-based, the process of working through detox and healing, as well as overcoming the cause of your addiction, is very personal.
- You may have suffered abuse or neglect.
- You may be battling depression.
- You may have feelings of defeat.
- You may use because of the escape it offers.
- You may have a medical condition; your significant other does not.
The list goes on. Addressing the personal impact of drugs and alcohol on your life and body, as well as mental health, is essential to recovery.
How a Rehab Treatment Center Can Help You
Drug and alcohol rehab centers work to facilitate the healing process for individuals and couples. They often look at the life you are living and find the right tools to help you to improve.
The best couples rehab centers get to know who you are and why you are here. They don’t just deal with detox.
They go further, providing you with resources and tools to help you to overcome the addiction. How is that going to happen? For couples, it often means the following:
Changes in Behavior
A big part of the success you have with addiction treatment centers will be focused on changing behaviors. Couples can often get into very negative scenarios because they do the same things frequently.
For example, you may have a group of friends who use. It’s crucial for you to realize this needs to change.
You cannot take the drugs from them, but you can remove yourself from that exposure. You will need to change behaviors related to many things:
- Work stress
- Family and friend stressors
- Frustrations about finances
- Health and pain concerns
- Environmental factors
- Mental and emotional factors
Drug and alcohol rehab centers offer different solutions here. The goal is to help minimize your risk of relapse by addressing the behaviors that led to them.
Address Underlying Causes of Substance Abuse
Another critical step for drug and alcohol rehab centers is to focus on the cause. This is where some locations fail.
Ultimately, the goal is not just to help you detox and go on your way. Instead, there is a strong need to get to the bottom of what caused the addiction.
Unlike other conventional american addiction centers, at Elevate Addiction Services, we know that you can renew yourself and recover from addiction. And, we believe that you can rise above the cause.
To do that, you must address what it is. Drug addiction treatment is ineffective if it is merely talk therapy. You need to remove the toxins from your body and then work hard to understand why you hit this low.
What caused it? What could be the underlying reason you reached for drugs in the first place? Most importantly, where are you trying to be in the future?
In a couple’s format, it is possible to work on this together. However, each individual is likely to have a different underlying cause.
As noted, this could include things like:
- illness
- abuse
- neglect
It may be hard to find without a significant amount of individual focus. In our addiction treatment centers, we focus on the “why” to ensure the recovery happens.
Focus on Holistic Improvement and Wellbeing
One of the best ways to improve your chances of success is to move away from the concepts of a 12-step program and medication assisted treatment.
Look beyond a product that uses other drugs, like methadone, as a treatment. And, you will want to focus on drug addiction treatment that is more specialized for your needs.
At Elevate Addiction Services, our goal is whole-body healing and wellbeing. This holistic approach to drug and alcohol addiction can do several things:
- Strip your body of chemical dependency.
- Facilitate healing.
- Build a strong platform from which you can build the rest of your life.
As a rehab center, we help focus you as individuals and as a couple.
It’s essential to work on you, and both of you. It’s quite the challenge, but it is empowering and life-changing when it happens.
You can recover, and we can help you to get to that point. Here’s what goes into your recovery process as a couple.
Detox Safely
The first step at drug and alcohol treatment centers is to focus on detox. This is the process that strips the body from the chemical itself.
You cannot recover from the substance holding you back until it is removed—utilizing a variety of tools and methods to help you through this process.
We aim to minimize the physical demands and pain you may feel while also giving you the tools to get through the process safely.
Healing the Body
When you enter our drug and alcohol treatment centers, you go through detox. And, when you come through the other side, your body is struggling.
It may not be going through withdrawal, but it is not faced with the need to heal from all of the abuses it has endured over the years. Our goal here is to heal your body. We do this by addressing your nutritional needs.
As a couple, this is critical. You need to learn what your bodies need to heal so that you can continue to supply each other with proper nutrition when you are at home.
Healing the Mind
Couples and individuals alike also need to consider the importance of healing the mind. We encourage this through a variety of tools and resources.
For example, healing your mind through yoga, meditation, and mindfulness can help you clarify that you need to move forward.
Like any other service available to you, it is always essential to have individualized treatment plans put in place.
As a couple, you may be able to do some of these activities together. However, some you will need to focus on doing on your own.
More so, you need to develop the ability to overcome struggles with your strength, too.
Creating a Long-Term Plan for Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation
Though you will receive outstanding support and tools within a drug addiction treatment program, you also need to go home with incredible support and resources to keep helping you both.
As a couple, this is where you will need to begin carving out a future for yourself. This is where you will need to keep each other supported and on the path to wellness.
It is essential to know that this type of support between the two of you does not mean you don’t need professional help and support.
Instead, it means that you both need to support each other in continuing with aftercare programs. Addiction treatment for couples is possible.
Addiction is a condition that is brought on by many factors. It is up to you both to address what those individual factors are so that you can heal and overcome your addiction.
What’s empowering is knowing that both of you are working on this together. As a result, you both can keep each other in line long term and foster a strong, healthy relationship with yourselves and each other.
When you do accomplish this goal, you will feel as though you’ve become more vital as individuals and as a couple.
If you or a loved one is struggling with substance use, reach out to Elevate Addiction Services today to get the help you need.

Scott Friend, MSW, M.S.
12/15/2020
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