If your partner recently started a rehab program, now is that time to focus on yourself. Is it selfish to shift your focus to your own healing and recovery? The answer is no. On the contrary, now is a great time to focus on processing your betrayal trauma so you can heal and get your life back.
In the upcoming weeks or months, you may not hear from your spouse as much, and that is okay. In fact, you may be feeling a sense of relief that they're getting the help they need for their addiction. So, what can you do to prepare for life after treatment? One of the best things you can do is process your betrayal trauma. As you focus on your needs, you'll likely discover you become a better version of yourself.
In this article, we'll discuss why it's a great idea to focus on healing your betrayal trauma while your spouse is in rehab.
Living with a spouse who has an addiction can be a traumatic experience. For example, betrayal often accompanies addiction, especially if you happen to discover it on your own. As a result, you may be living with many symptoms of betrayal trauma.
When your spouse enters into a treatment center, it can leave you wondering what your relationship will look like after rehab. As you plan to move into a supportive role, it will be equally important to ensure your needs are met. Therefore, working on yourself can be vital to both you and your spouse's success. Processing your betrayal trauma can help you return to a sense of normalcy. Through therapy, you can work toward alleviating your symptoms and improving your mental health.
Focusing on your mental and physical health is a great way to prepare to welcome your spouse home from inpatient treatment. Living with someone who has an addiction is not easy, and you deserve to heal. Likewise, with help, you can acquire the knowledge and skills you'll need to help yourself and your spouse enjoy life in recovery. However, if you're living with betrayal trauma after your spouse arrives home, it may inhibit recovery success.
Whether the program lasts 30 days, or a year, through treatment, your spouse will be gaining valuable skills to aid life in recovery. What about you, though?
Addiction is a disease that affects everyone in the family. However, families don't always seek treatment for their own healing. As such, they miss out on the skills, tools, and strategies they need as they transition to a new way of life. Yet, with everyone working toward improving, relationships can heal. As a result, the odds of successful recovery also increase.
By focusing on yourself and healing from betrayal trauma, you're able to work through issues that may hold you back otherwise. Likewise, processing your betrayal trauma may help you work through problems that you may be unaware of right now.
Living with betrayal trauma can negatively impact you in many ways. For example, you could be living with symptoms such as:
Keep in mind; there are many ways to support your spouse after they enter rehab. However, self-care is the best way you'll be able to help. By taking care of yourself, you'll be able to offer the best support possible. Remember, it isn't selfish to take care of your needs. In fact, working through your betrayal trauma may be the key to setting the two of you up for success.
At the Paradise Creek Recovery Center, we believe a large part of addiction recovery success lies within the family's recovery. Therefore, we strive to help families take the necessary steps to prevent relapse. Likewise, we want to help you build a rewarding and healthy life in recovery. Working through your betrayal trauma while your partner works on their addiction is a great way to help both of you reach the goal of recovery.
