Substance Abuse
When a relationship starts bringing you more pain than pleasure, it’s not unheard of to seek solace in drugs or alcohol that promote the production of “joyful” brain chemicals.
And it’s not difficult to become dependent on these medications to make you feel better, especially after receiving another abusive rant. The one causing the abuse doesn’t even have to be consciously offensive.
Usually, what we perceive as emotionally harmful comes as repeated negativity in the words of someone we care about. Behind these rants is a subtle reminder that you’re not doing enough to improve things.
After listening to that for years, you become numb or increasingly angry and prone to volatile outbursts. After hearing all these rants of “how bad we’re doing and it’s your fault,” who wouldn’t want a glass of something, even knowing that the boost in spirits is only temporary?
