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Giving Up 👉 Giving Space

4 Jul 2023 · 1 min

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0:45

Amber Hollingsworth addresses how to overcome emotional attachment to a partner who is addicted (example: a seven-year boyfriend addicted to fentanyl). She reframes "giving up" as "giving space," advising the questioner to stop feeding obsessive thoughts, redirect thinking, and create distance to heal — likening the process to how an addicted person must stop feeding their addiction.

Chapters

How do you get over an addiction to a person? My boyfriend of seven years is a fentanyl addict and is in complete denial. I'm having a hard time giving up on him. Some of the reason why you might be having a hard time could be. I mean, even when you're using the word giving up on him probably makes you feel guilty. Like, of course, there's this part of, like, I miss him, I love him, I want to be around him. But now you're adding in a part of give up on him. I want you to change those words from give up on him to give him some space or give yourself some space, because you don't have to give up to back up and give space. You have to stop feeding the obsessive thoughts that you have. It's actually the very same process as what the addictive person has to do to give up their addiction. You're going to have to redirect your thinking and get some distance, and the more you can do that, the faster you'll heal.