Ultimately, you want to be working toward getting your partner to accept professional help for their alcoholism. It’s not necessarily the best idea to confront your loved one on your own. Instead, it’s best to encourage them to get help without accusations or judgment. The first step is to confirm that your partner is, in fact, an alcoholic. Simply confronting them likely won’t give you any answers, as they’re probably in denial about their condition. These organizations can help anyone affected by AUD find the support and guidance needed to overcome the challenges of addiction and recovery.
- The constant emotional turmoil, unpredictability, and neglect create an environment ripe for depressive symptoms to develop.
- Make sure your children are eating a healthy diet and getting adequate exercise and sleep.
- You might also need to offer extra support during celebratory events where alcohol is served to guests.
- If you know they drink a lot and/or drink frequently and they have at least a few of these symptoms, chances are there is a problem with alcohol.
- Organizations like NACoA offer resources to help children cope with living in an alcoholic household.
Forms of enabling an alcoholic include:
It is only when they experience their own pain that they will feel a need to change. What might seem like a reasonable expectation in some circumstances might be totally unreasonable when it comes to someone with an addiction. When your loved one swears to you and to themselves that they will never touch another drop of alcohol, how to live with an alcoholic you might believe them.
Encourage Treatment
This level of financial instability can create pervasive stress and conflict within the marriage. From advice on staging an intervention to comprehensive alcohol addiction treatment programmes, Recovery Lighthouse can provide everything you and your loved one need. Remember that your support can be the most powerful weapon in the battle against alcohol addiction.
Partial Hospitalization Programs (PHP) and Intensive Outpatient Programs (IOP)
When under the influence, your loved one may become angry and lash out. They likely don’t even realize they’re behaving this way, and they may not remember once the effects of the alcohol wear off. Someone with AUD may also become angry or irritable when they don’t have access to alcohol because they’re experiencing withdrawal. A support group such as Al-Anon Family Groups may also be a helpful source of support when you have someone in your life with a drinking problem. The group can give you a place to get social support and encouragement from others going through a similar situation. Often, in trying to “help,” well-meaning loved ones will actually do something that enables someone dependent on alcohol to continue along their destructive paths.
Recognize Enabling Behaviors
Treatment for alcohol addiction and substance abuse is multi-faceted, focusing on both physical and psychological aspects. Seeking help for substance abuse is crucial, as it can significantly impact relationships and family dynamics. This knowledge will help you approach the situation with empathy and clarity. Many people who suffer from alcohol use disorder may be high-functioning, highlighting the subtlety of recognizing alcohol abuse in functioning individuals. Living with an alcoholic partner can significantly affect a person’s life, leading to a multitude of emotional, mental, and physical challenges that impact overall well-being.
My Partner is an Alcoholic: How to Cope with an Alcoholic Partner
In the end, learning how to balance care for your spouse with care for yourself is crucial to navigating the challenges of living with an alcoholic partner. Al-Anon specifically serves family members and friends of alcoholics, offering emotional support and coping strategies tailored to your unique challenges. Al-Anon meetings help you understand that you’re not alone in dealing with an alcoholic spouse.
When to Seek Professional Help
For Alcoholics Anonymous example, mention a time they missed an important family event or got into legal trouble due to drinking. Offer tangible examples to help them understand that this is not a vague complaint but a significant concern tied to real-life consequences. Over time, unresolved addiction issues can strain the bond you share with your spouse. Trust may erode, and some spouses report feeling more like a caretaker or enabler rather than an equal partner. In the UK, between 3% and 5% of the population suffers from a drinking problem at any one time. And in the US, up to thirty-eight million people have an alcohol addiction at some point in their lives.
- Unless there is a legal mandate (such as court-ordered rehab), an individual generally needs to choose treatment for themselves.
- Use motivational interviewing techniques by discussing both pros and cons of drinking to help them recognize their own reasons for change.
- Living with an alcoholic, someone who has AUD, also known as alcoholism, for some time gets you accustomed to extreme moods.
- When determining if the person you live with has a drinking problem, consider the big picture.
This additional support can give you the emotional fortitude to stick with tough love strategies. It’s common for spouses of individuals with alcohol addiction to inadvertently shoulder the blame for their partner’s behavior or to try to fix problems that stem from the addiction. Remember that your spouse’s drinking is not your fault, and you cannot singlehandedly cure them of their addiction.
How can my loved one get the help they need for alcohol addiction?
Making sure you‘re healthy and safe can make you a better support system for your loved one with AUD, however you chose to be there for them. If you live with someone with alcohol use disorder, you know addiction doesn’t just impact one person. Your partner may choose to attend some type of rehab center or employ some other therapeutic intervention for the treatment of their alcohol misuse issues at some point. If (or when) they do, you’ll want to know what options are out there for the treatment of AUDs and what to look for in a treatment provider. When you’re emotionally entangled in a relationship shaped by substance https://ecosoberhouse.com/ use, it’s easy to lose perspective. Yes, living with an alcoholic can cause depression among family members.
The worst expectation you as a wife to an alcoholic husband may have is to expect a change overnight. However, you can convince them to set certain limits to how much they should be drinking. This will help you keep them out of trouble and save you from embarrassing situations.