Partners Living With Addiction & Trauma
Protecting connection, safety and your own wellbeing
I created this resource because stress, trauma, addiction and substance misuse can become so closely tangled that families are left wondering where one ends and the other begins.
This is not about blaming trauma for every addiction, and it is not about excusing behaviour that has hurt other people. It is about understanding why somebody may have reached for alcohol, drugs or another addictive behaviour when their nervous system felt overwhelmed — and then looking at how that coping strategy may have become another source of pain.
In this guide I explore when the relationship revolves around crisis, trust, intimacy and emotional safety, financial and home boundaries. I also talk about turning towards family in a healthier way: asking for support without making one relative responsible for everything, repairing relationships where possible, respecting boundaries and making sure family members have somewhere to take their own stress and trauma too.
You will also find book recommendations and UK support information for the person struggling and for parents, partners, adult children and other loved ones.
You do not have to wait until the whole family is at breaking point before asking for help.
Maggie
Space to Breathe Therapy
