How To Handle Toxic Relationships In Recovery?

Addiction recovery is a rewarding but often challenging process. Healing souls are always facing potential pitfalls capable of knocking them off the wagon and back into the throes of dependency.

One crucial aspect of recovery is the company improving subjects keep. Toxic people or relationships often prove especially difficult to say, individuals. Therefore, knowing how to recognize such persons or situations and learning how to cope with them often proves critical to their maintaining sobriety.

Signs Of Toxic People And Relationships

Toxic people often display certain common traits including:

  • Controlling Behavior – Toxic relationships are usually comprised of one person who controls the other through manipulation and coercion.
  • Dishonesty – Those displaying toxic tendencies are often dishonest. They will lie to maintain control of a person or circumstances.
  • Disrespect – Disrespect is a major fault displayed by toxic subjects. They enjoy belittling or minimizing others to gain an upper hand in the relationship and feel better about themselves.

Overlooking The Needs Of Others

Toxic persons only think about themselves. This type of selfishness manifests in the belief their personal, professional, health, and other needs hold greater importance than anyone else’s.

Creating Continual Drama And Stress

Troublesome, toxic individuals always create drama to gain attention and dominate relationships. They are constantly facing some type of personal, professional, or financial life crisis creating stress for the recovering subject and often expect everyone else to help said issues get resolved.

Providing A Lack Of Support

Toxic souls seldom consider the feelings, emotions, or desires of others. They only think of what they need and the struggles they face.

Establishing A Tense Environment

Relationships experiencing toxicity often involve one individual continually waiting for the proverbial shoe to drop. In response, they often tread carefully in an attempt to avoid doing or saying something that will trigger more adverse behavior from the toxic subject.

Important Questions To Ask When One Is Unsure?

Granted, admitting that a loved one is a toxic individual is not an easy admonition to conclude. Many healing subjects might be too focused on their recovery to pay attention to the signs or simply not wish to be honest with themselves and ignore the obvious. In such circumstances, mental health professionals and addiction specialists stress that they ask themselves questions including:

  • Does the individual in question make them feel insecure
  • Do they feel obligated to spend time with the toxic subject
  • Is the subject in question possessive or controlling
  • Do they create unnecessary stress or drama
  • Do they try to manipulate or undermine them
  • Do they feel worse after spending time with them

Should one answer yes to any of these inquiries, the recovering subject is likely experiencing a toxic relationship and is advised to consider taking swift and aggressive corrective actions.

Addressing A Toxic Relationship

Persons in recovery have already experienced a significant amount of stress and trauma. Therefore, associations with toxic individuals greatly increase their chances of relapse. Fortunately, they may reduce their risk of such adverse events by engaging in corrective measures such as:

Not Feeling Obligated

Healing souls must consider their own mental, emotional, and physical health. Therefore, they are under no obligation to continue any type of toxic association. Said advice even includes family members. Persons who repeatedly hurt or cause strife for the recovering subject should be avoided at all costs.

Expressing One’s True Feelings

Sometimes, the inability to express one’s true feelings and emotions leads to negative consequences precipitating eventual chemical dependency. Therefore, improving persons should not hesitate to express their true feelings. Occasionally, simply informing a toxic person of their questionable ways might alert them to their behavior and bring about positive changes.

Formulating More Productive Relationships

Recovering individuals are firmly urged to establish new associations with those displaying good qualities. This means dumping dishonest, untrustworthy, people with honest, trustworthy, and upstanding subjects.

Saying No When Need Be

Healing persons must remember that their well-being comes first. This means that they must learn to say no. Doing so will prevent them from getting too bogged down with additional responsibilities and the burdens of other people.

Respecting Oneself

The recovering subject needs to respect themselves first. Engaging in actions such as obtaining enough sleep, consuming a healthy and balanced diet, exercising, limiting stress, and partaking in productive hobbies will increase their inner strength and confidence and render them better equipped to fend off toxic individuals.

Contacting Us

Our Florida facility has aided countless recovering addicts to address their dependencies and return to the lives they once enjoyed. To learn more about this or any other topic related to addiction or recovery, please reach out to us at 772-266-5320.

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Essentials mission is to renew lives impacted by addiction through personalized and complete behavioral healthcare. Our main purpose is to provide services and education to the client and family that will support long lasting recovery of mind, body, and spirit.