You're cautiously optimistic, and hope your relationship problems will vanish, now that you've stopped feeding them drugs and booze. You know about the effects of chemical dependency on the family and you and your partner are both committed to a program of recovery. Now you won't have to fight, blame, accuse, or pout. So you wait-three months, six months, nine months. And the magic still doesn't happen.
Nothing seems to grow, in fact, but tension-and disappointment.
You rub each other the wrong way. You argue or suffer through silences that are worse than war. You begin to feel isolated, lonely. You wonder if the struggle's going to be worth it. Because recovery can be a slow process, which is never more evident than in the lives of a couple recovering together.