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Many of us struggling with addiction also struggle with unhealthy relationships full of conflict, misunderstanding, and miscommunication. We’re dealing with intense emotional issues that keep us from having healthy relationships with ourselves, let alone with other people. Many of our relationship challenges come from the fact that we’re lacking in communication and conflict resolution skills. We don’t know how to express ourselves calmly, clearly, and effectively. We don’t know how to listen mindfully and attentively. We don’t know how to form conscious relationship dynamics with other people. What do communication skills have to do with addiction recovery?

Stress, Unmet Needs, and Unhappiness

Our lack of communication skills can weigh on us and on our relationships, and on our sobriety as well. When we don’t have healthy communication in our relationships, we tend to feel considerably more stressed, anxious, lonely, and sad. We feel alone with our pain, rather than being able to open up to our loved ones. We feel unable to express our needs, which means they often go unmet. We don’t know how to communicate our boundaries and expectations.  Our relationship issues weigh on our minds and hearts and create a great deal of emotional and psychological pain for us. They wreak havoc on our stress levels and on our daily lives. They can feel all-consuming and debilitating. We feel overpowered, destabilized, and depressed by them. What do we do when we feel this way? We turn to our drugs of choice. Our relationship problems, and our unhealthy communication patterns, can play a direct role in our drug use.

Healthier Relationships, More Peace of Mind 

When we learn healthy communication skills, we’re able to transform the health of our relationships. We’re able to talk about how we feel and communicate our needs to the other person. We’re able to make ourselves heard and understood. We’re able to support each other and solve conflicts amicably and mindfully. Our relationship problems don’t necessarily go away, but they can be drastically improved. Our stress levels decrease. We feel a greater sense of ease and peace of mind. We feel closer to the other person, far less alienated and estranged from them because of the strain in our communication. As a result, we can be far less angry, anxious, and emotionally triggered to use our drugs of choice. We have an easier time solving our conflicts together, as a team, and we can work to forgive each other and move forward together. The better our communication is and the healthier our relationships become, the more at peace we feel within them. We become less likely to need our drugs of choice to distract ourselves from stressful relationship dynamics and communication problems.

At The Guest House Ocala, we are uniquely equipped to help our guests heal from trauma-induced substance abuse and process addictions in a safe, comfortable and confidential setting.

Call 855-823-5463 today for more information on our treatment programs.