People with chemical dependency issues almost always have co-dependency issues with their relationships. Alcoholics always have that one person that keeps handing them a drink, and not because their friends or partners are trying to keep them drunk or hurt them, but because they do not recognize that they are enablers of the alcoholics in their lives. This unhealthy cycle of being with someone or being someone's friend who enables the addiction is what keeps your addiction going. If you want to break the cycle, there are some serious steps you need to take.

Enrolling in a Drug Addiction Treatment Program

Regardless of what your drug of choice is, you need to enroll in a drug addiction treatment program first. Here, you not only confront your addiction, but recognize that some of your relationships with others contribute to the problem. Maybe you hang out with others who use and abuse, or maybe you are married to someone who occasionally uses but gets you to use more. Either way, a drug addiction treatment program helps you become more aware of these social problems and gives you options on how you can address them.

Attending Couples Therapy

If the person you are married to is part of your co-dependency issue, then you can attend couples therapy to help you address this problem. All too often, a spouse does not realize that he or she is contributing to your co-dependency and your drug use. Once he or she is aware of it, then your spouse can work with you through counseling to change his or her bad habits and reduce the amount of effort and time acting as your crutch and more as your support.

Reducing Contact with Co-Dependents

When your co-dependent is a friend or acquaintance, it is easier to break away than when your spouse is your co-dependent. You can talk to your friends about their behaviors and how they contribute to your drug use and abuse, but in the end it may just be easier to reduce contact with these friends. Sometimes, patients who are attempting to quit their drug addictions altogether will also quit those people with which they have co-dependency problems. It breaks the entire cycle because they are not roped back into a lifestyle of submissiveness and drug use.

Extensive Counseling May Be in Your Future

Learned patterns of behavior, such as drug use and co-dependency, cannot be undone overnight. Some patients in a chemical dependency treatment program, such as Olalla Recovery Centers, may have to have several years of personal counseling before they can undo these learned habits. Be prepared for the long haul.