If you’re married to an alcoholic or someone battling another form of addiction, it’s probably taken quite a toll on your marriage. If you’ve been trying to make your marriage work and you’re running into a wall, the only way to put an end to your misery may be to file for divorce.
If you’re like a lot of people, you may have not known your spouse was an addict when you got married. After all, a lot of addicts are good at hiding their addictions. Or, perhaps your loved one developed an addiction afteryou took your wedding vows. Regardless of how it happened, you have plenty of company. Millions of couples struggle with addiction.
The Spouse’s Predicament
For spouses married to addicts, they often find themselves stuck in heartbreaking predicaments. Even though their spouses have flaws, they still love their good qualities. For example, the addict may still be helpful around the house, romantic, a good provider or a loving parent. The problem is that the destructive behaviors tend to outweigh the addicts’ good qualities.
Does the above sound familiar? If so, you’ve probably been asking yourself for some time: “Should I stay or should I go? When is enough, enough?” Should you help them overcome their addiction, or is there nothing left that you can do?
Eventually, it comes down to your self-preservation. The issue is that addiction progresses and it leads to self-destruction. It doesn’t get better unless the addict wants to help themselves and they actually seek help and do what they’re supposed to do. There is no shortage of treatment programs for alcoholism, drug, sex, and gambling addictions. But at the end of the day, the addict has to want to win the fight and get better. You can’t force it.
If you’ve done all you can do, at some point you may have to file for divorce, especially if you have children who are witnessing the unhealthy behavior. There is plenty of research that says that exposing children to addiction can have long-term effects, including increasing their own risk of developing addictive behaviors.
An attorney from our firm can offer advice about how to proceed with a cheap, no fault divorce, even if your spouse is an addict. Contact us today for guidance – we’re glad to help!
