Abandonment and substance abuse are extremely complicated issues when considered separately, but most people don’t realize that abandonment is one of the key underlying causes of addiction. Depending on the age, gender, and background of the person experiencing the abandonment, the damage may vary. Common forms of abandonment reported by those suffering from alcohol or drug addiction are a loved one’s death, the ending of a romantic relationship or divorce, and childhood parental abandonment.
Typically, therapists see that with death, people have a stronger ability to cope without blaming themselves; however, divorce and childhood abandonment often cause a person to believe he or she is the cause of the abandonment and can leave an individual feeling alone and confused with deep wounds, looking for a way to numb the pain.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) explains that parental involvement and abandonment directly link to the occurrence and severity of substance abuse and addiction.
At Passages Malibu, our licensed therapists often see clients who are struggling with a root underlying abandonment issue. Often emotions are left bottled up for years, and this underlying pain surfaces as the destructive behavior and coping mechanism to use drugs and alcohol.
Substance abuse with abandonment issues does require a significant amount of hard work and therapy. Discussing your fears with a therapist and letting them help you explore your feelings of desertion is a great beginning. At treatment centers like Passages Malibu, individuals can work on their abandonment issues and heal their addictions and establish healthy coping mechanisms.
Call Passages Addiction Treatment Centers today if you or a loved one is battling an addiction to drugs and/or alcohol. Our admissions department is available 24/7 and can be reached directly by calling our toll-free number (888) 397-0112. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Passages, Where Addiction Ends and Life Begins™
