When is it time to let go?

Ruby Slippers

Bluelighter
Joined
Jun 13, 2015
Messages
166
Location
Yellow Brick Road
I love my boyfriend very much. I enjoy his company and personality immensely. I would be sad if he wasn't part of my day to day life anymore. However.... in a nutshell he has both substance abuse and major communication issues. I literally can't have a minor discussion about his behavior without it turning into a major ordeal where he goes into defensive attack mode, and if he is drinking it's all bad. There are other underlying issues but l am happy most of the time. These disagreements happen every other week on average.
Because l love him, l have tried to help him overcome both his substance abuse and emotional problems, and while l have seen progress it isn't rapid or permanent. I don't know if l can help him or if it's even my responsibility. At what point do you give up on someone?
 
I love my boyfriend very much. I enjoy his company and personality immensely. I would be sad if he wasn't part of my day to day life anymore. However.... in a nutshell he has both substance abuse and major communication issues. I literally can't have a minor discussion about his behavior without it turning into a major ordeal where he goes into defensive attack mode, and if he is drinking it's all bad. There are other underlying issues but l am happy most of the time. These disagreements happen every other week on average.
Because l love him, l have tried to help him overcome both his substance abuse and emotional problems, and while l have seen progress it isn't rapid or permanent. I don't know if l can help him or if it's even my responsibility. At what point do you give up on someone?

You deserve better dear. Don't let yourself fail to save someone else. It's never your responsibility to save someone else even if you could.
 
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I'm sorry you're going through this Ruby. He has to want to get clean, there is really nothing you can do to get him to feel the way. If he is trying because you want him to, in the end he'll end up resenting you.

You said you have frequent talks regarding his using, and yet little changes. He is not ready yet. It could happen in time, or it may not happen at all - there's no way to tell. You have to ask yourself if his using is something you can accept and live with? If you accept it are you prepared for it to become more frequent and and more intense as addiction is a progressive disease and until he is ready to get sober, his using will continue to escalate over time.

Personally, I think you already have your answer and are looking for validation. You're not giving up on him, he is choosing a lifestyle over you. His problems are much deeper than just drugs, there is a mental component driving him to use. He may know what it is, he may not, but nothing is going to change with him until he addresses it. What kind of life do you want for yourself, is this something you're will to sacrifice for, and patiently wait for, because he has let you know his stance.

He is not willing to change now, if ever. He may say he will change, but his actions indicate otherwise. It's a big gamble for a relationship that isn't equal. You say there's not much drama, but you have a talk once every two weeks. I bet the number of discussions increases as his usage increases. You say he's difficult when he's drunk, what happens when he starts drinking every other night, or every night? How often do you ruminate when he's out, or worry, and wonder what's going on?

I have been with my husband for four years now, and I can count on one hand the number of actual arguments we have had. If one of us does something the other doesn't like, it only gets mentioned once - the behavior isn't repeated. I said mentioned, because it's not even a discussion it takes so little time. Seldom does anything like that come up because we are considerate to each other, and are mindful to respect the other person. I've only worried about his whereabouts once, because he left his phone at the house to run to the store really quick and it took longer than usual. He was late because he decided to run to multiple stores when the closest one was out of what we needed.

I use my relationship as an example to show that what you're experiencing isn't normal, and you deserve someone who values you as much as you do them. If you walk away from this relationship it's not because you're giving up on him - it's because you are are not his priority, and that's not your fault or anything to feel bad about. You deserve so much more, and I hope you find it soon!
 
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You owe him nothing. If being with him is hurting you or your efforts at any kind of recovery, it's time to go. And it's important to keep in mind: going now is not the same as giving up on him. It's simply self-preservation and being realistic.

I'm old, which doesn't have many benefits except that I've seen many things many times... you can't give up on someone who won't let you help them in the first place.

Bad fights every other week? It's your call. But I think you deserve better than that. Be strong. Be well.
 
I agree with everyone else, Ruby. It's scary to leave the familiar and probably hard to hurt him by breaking up but in the end it will be healthier for both of you.<3
 
Thanks for the replies everyone. I didn't mean to take so long to get back to the thread l have just been busy:) Sometimes even though we already know the answer it helps to hear it from others. Thanks again.
 
My partner left me a few months ago because I kept turning back to drugs. She warned me that she would leave if she caught me using again (it was a stupid and dangerous drug she disliked).
She left..
And I don't blame her.. She gave me chances all of which I disrespected.


I feel like she done me a favour.
I'm definitely a better person now.. In fact I'm cleaner than I have been in +10 years .
 
^ That's awesome you've changed your ways. Congratulations! I'm sure my constant drinking was a problem while in a relationship. It didn't start out that way. I think I realized I was miserable in the relationship and self-destructed with drinking. It was an odd way of pushing him away. If I wasn't miserable, I wouldn't have felt the need to drink or take something while with him.

Sometimes we need to get out of toxic relationships in order to improve ourselves. His addiction was food. Being in a relationship with me, just made him comfortable with getting bigger. Hopefully now he has been losing weight doing better. No desire to ever reach out to him again. It ended badly, but needed to.
 
Ruby,
I can relate to your story somewhat. I feel I am also at the point of let go and move on or stay and nothing probably ever change. My man is an opiate addict he doesn't drink. Not that either is better than the other. I too use but have I have cut back significantly over the past two months. I went from daily 0.25mg to 0.5mg of H daily sniffed or 90mg-150mg roxy daily down to "just" 30-60mg roxy sniffed or oral every other day. I even had a week of no use recently. But when it's in your face 24/7 it kinda makes it hard. Which is just an excuse. I know.

On the other hand I feel that he will never change no matter how many times he says this is the last time, he needs to quit, or no more after this. It's never ended. The more I drop down in my own use the more I believe he may never stop. Or go back to the person he was before we started in with all this mess. In general he is not a bad person. We don't fight per se, he pays most of the living expense. The more I have cut back on my own use and want to go out and do things I use to enjoy again and he just wants to sit on the couch and smoke cigarettes watch TV or sleep. That is getting aggravating.

We've been together for so long. That sometimes I think or i should say i know I stay just to have someone to come home to. Even if he's passed out half the time. I feel your pain girl. There is no magic answer and it's hard. I know it is.
 
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