Is recovery forever?
I have a question. I'm married to a "recovering" alcholic. He's sober now for 12 years. In many ways I'm so proud of him. In other ways, he has some personality characteristics that make being in a relationship very hard, like extreme self-centeredness, inability to empathize with my feelings, or his own, occasional bouts of moodiness and meanness, and quickly becoming overwhelmed if I get emotional about anything. We are in couples therapy.
My question is: is "recovery" ever over? At what point does one accept that these are qualities and traits of an individual, likely not to change, and if so...can I live with them? I guess my deeper question is how do I feel about these llimitations, and does accepting them as part of recovery also mean, there is likely to be no improvement in these areas.
This forum I've found to be really full of wise, experienced people. I don't know that much about addiction, trying to find my way.
Thank you in advance!
Tao