Codependency is used to describe a one-sided relationship in which a person enables a loved one’s destructive behavior. We all have such tendencies in relationships but those who are close friends or family members of addicts become trapped in a vicious cycle. As the addict is attached to the bottle or the drug, the codependent is attached to the addict. In trying to save the addict from their own destructive behavior, they become a source of stress or guilt for the addict which pushes them towards their substance even more.

The codependent may then derive their own self worth through this relationship. This is a serious issue as the codependent stops living their own life in trying to save the addict’s life. There may even be a chance that the codependent themselves could start using a substance or develop depression or anxiety. Even when the person is sober and in recovery, the relationship with the codependent (usually, the person closest to the addict, i.e. husband, wife, child, mother, etc) increases their chances of relapse.

To ensure that the person in recovery goes back to a stable and supportive environment, free from anger or hostility; and that those who are codependent also are free from their addiction to the codependent relationship, we offer counseling to the family members and loved ones of the client. We, at Zorbacare, treat addiction not just as an individual’s problem but an imbalance which affects the person and the social web in which he or she lives.

Family counseling helps them form authentic and loving relationships which help both sides empathize with each other and free themselves from the emotionally draining cycles that they are trapped in. Codependency is as much a disease as addiction which needs to be treated. Exclusive destination therapy programs at Zorbacare are a perfect setting to treat the individual and the codependent at the same time.