Drugs, Alcohol, and Relationship Abuse

05/19/19

Woman holding paper speech bubble that reads "love is listening"

Sunday, May 19, 2019

What’s the Risk?

Especially if you are an abusive relationship, drugs and alcohol can make an unhealthy situation worse. Your abusive partner may get you drunk or high to take advantage of you. When you are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you’re more vulnerable to:

Being sexually assaulted.
Having unsafe or unprotected sex.
Addiction.

A few other risks to consider are:

Emotions may be stronger or change quickly.
A bad situation may escalate more easily.
It may be harder to take action to escape a bad situation (because you/your ride are unable to drive, it’s difficult to remember your safety plan, etc.).

If you have a problem with drug or alcohol abuse, don’t be embarrassed to admit it. There is help! Chat with a peer advocate to learn more about what you can do.

It’s Not My Fault!

It’s common for abusive partners to blame drugs or alcohol for their unhealthy behavior. Frequently, they do not accept responsibility for their actions or address the real reasons for the abuse. Drugs and alcohol do affect a person’s judgment and behavior, but they are not a reason for violent behavior. Watch out for these common excuses:

“I didn’t mean what I said. I was drunk.”
“I would never hit you sober.”
“Drinking turns me into a different person. That’s not who I really am.”

It’s important to remember that when your partner is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, their actions still reflect their personality. If your partner is violent when they are drunk or high, it’s probably just a matter of time until they are abusive when they’re sober.

Knowing the warning signs of an unhealthy or abusive relationship will help you distinguish between healthy and unhealthy behaviors.

Source: https://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-abuse/drugs-alcohol-abuse/