According to Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, substance use disorder (SUD) often results in little or no social support. Moreover, you are more likely to experience isolation, intimate partner violence (IPV), and other forms of relationship conflict. The aftermath of SUD can impede romantic relationships and leave you feeling too ashamed to repair an existing relationship or foster a new relationship. Therefore, addressing the challenges of SUD and recovery is valuable for supporting healthy romance in recovery.
At Driftwood Recovery, we recognize how important social connection is in reintegrating into the community. Without connection and community, it can be difficult to rediscover your sense of belonging and support your well-being. Moreover, romance in recovery can feel impossible when SUD has fractured your relationship with your partner(s). Further, the sense of shame and the work of recovery can make you feel like romance in recovery is impossible. You may question how any current or new partner(s) could love you. However, you are more than your SUD and deserve love in both platonic and romantic relationships.
Through a community-driven approach, we are dedicated to helping you reintegrate into society. With a vibrant, sober community, you can find the service, accountability, and encouragement needed to rebuild a connection with yourself and others. Whether you want to repair your current romantic relationship or you are ready to pursue romance in recovery, we are here to support you. With support, you can build the tools you need to thrive as an individual and in romance in recovery for a well-rounded life.
Looking at the value of close relationships can give you insight into how to approach healing and building connections in your life.
The Value of Repairing Close Relationships
It is important to recognize the impact your substance use has had on your loved ones. Many of your loved ones likely felt anger, fear, anxiety, and depression, among other emotions, before and during your treatment. Now that you are in recovery, your loved ones may still feel worried, angry, and/or resentful about your substance use. Although it can feel distressing to think about how your SUD impacted your loved ones and your relationships, it is an important step toward healing.
Treatment and recovery are not only an opportunity for you to heal but also for the whole family to heal. As the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine states, fostering social connection is critical to health and wellness. Your social connections with romantic partners, family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues are invaluable to recovery.
Some of the ways building and or repairing your social connections can support healing include:
- Buffer for life stressors
- Empathy
- Self-awareness
- Self-understanding
- Ssense of belonging
Looking at some of the benefits of social connection speaks to the value of healing your relationship for romance in recovery.
Supporting Established Romance in Recovery
According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, romantic relationships and experiences greatly influence you. Through romantic relationships, you can find an important source of emotional bonding, positive self-concept, and greater social integration. Listed below are some of the ways you can work on repairing your relationships to support romance in recovery:
- Lead with honesty, humility, and empathy
- Take accountability
- Exercise patience and realistic expectations
- Be trustworthy through words and actions
- Attend meetings and therapy
- Be an active participant in your loved one’s life
- Practice healthy communication skills
- Make space for self-forgiveness
Having tools to rebuild healthy, close relationships can be a wonderful source of healing for you and your loved ones. However, you may question how you can apply repairing relationships to starting a new romance in recovery.
Addressing the Challenges of New Romance in Recovery
Starting a new romance in recovery is not advised when you are in early recovery. In your first year, romance in recovery presents numerous challenges. Post-treatment, romance in recovery can be a distraction from discovering the new sober you and increase your risk for relapse. However, romance in recovery does not have to be off the table forever. After you have taken the time to connect with yourself, build other meaningful relationships, and rebuild other domains of your life, a healthy romance can be a wonderful addition to your life.
Yet, how do you start a new romance in recovery? How do you talk about your recovery with a new partner? Listed below are some ways to approach romance in recovery:
- Sharing recovery with your partner
- Be honest and direct
- Expect questions
- Share the importance of your recovery
- Give them time to process
- Navigating romance in recovery
- Set healthy boundaries
- Make recovery a priority
- Take things slow
- Healthy communication
- Lean on your wider support network
- Set healthy boundaries
Whether you are in an established relationship or a new relationship, you can build a healthy life together in recovery. Yet, how do you maintain a healthy relationship?
Ways to Support Healthy Romance in Recovery
Fostering healthy relationships, both romantic and otherwise, in your life is built on:
- Mutual respect
- Effective communication
- Empathy
- Kindness
- Trust
- Honesty
- Problem-solving
- Teamwork
- Supportive
- Healthy boundaries
- Independence
- Gratitude
- Commitment
- Quality time
Building healthy relationships with others takes work and patience, but you are not alone. With a vibrant alumni program, you can lean on your extended support network to navigate personal growth and romance in recovery.
Fostering Connection With Community at Driftwood Recovery
At Driftwood Recovery, we recognize how important rebuilding a connection to self and others is for healing. Through an attachment-based approach to recovery, you have learned how to foster healthy attachments to the self and others. Yet, it can be intimidating to put the insights you learned in treatment into practice. However, with access to an active alumni program, you can put those insights into your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors into action in your life and relationships. We are dedicated to providing a peer-driven network of alumni to help you strengthen your connection to the self and community.
Rebuilding your life and repairing your relationships in recovery can feel daunting. Moreover, repairing or pursuing new romantic relationships in recovery can feel intimidating. However, building both romantic and platonic close relationships in and outside of your sober community can be invaluable to healing and sustained recovery. Healthy social connections can provide a source of emotional, informational, and instrumental support. While starting a new romantic relationship in early recovery is not recommended, romance in recovery past early recovery is possible. Driftwood Recovery is dedicated to providing a compassionate, peer-driven network of alumni for you to lean on as you learn to navigate personal growth and your relationships in recovery. Call us at (512) 759-8330 to learn more today.