Changes caused by life events

Death of a loved one, children leaving home, retirement of a parent, marriage of a sibling, all these events can cause us to rethink or evaluate our life goals and our relationship goals.
Avoiding changing the way we behave in relationships or evaluating why a partner in a relationship may be changed by life events, increases stress and increases the troubles that are experienced in a relationship.

Ending Relationships

Sometimes we need to consider ending a relationship as the best way to move ahead in our lives.

Take a moment and jot down how you responded in the past to ending relationships:
Thoughtfully acknowledging the good and the bad in a relationship
Ending the relationship with dignity
Avoidance, waiting for the other person to make the first move
Quickly and suddenly ending the relationship without bringing closure and tying up lose ends
Using drugs, alcohol, verbal or nonverbal violence or aggression

Ending relationships in an angry or overly dependent manner puts you at high risk for relapse.

If you are thinking about the end, take the time to write things down and reflect

To help assess where you are at ask yourself:
Is it possible to make changes within the relationship?
Is it a relationship that is putting my life goals and recovery at risk?
What practical steps might be taken to improve things?
Are there any clear advantages in ending the relationship and if so, what are those advantages?
Are there any clear advantages in maintaining the relationship and if so, what are those advantages?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 20th, 2005 at 6:32 am and is filed under Drug Addiction, Drug Rehab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.