Living with an Alcoholic

Alcoholism and Family Life
Alcoholism and Youth

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Living with an Alcoholic

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Anybody who cares about the alcoholic is damaged by their drinking, particularly those closest, the family.

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What a happy family but if you add a lot of this......

......you get a VERY unhappy family!

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Here are two, rather obvious truisms for you:

-Alcoholism and family life do not mix.

-Living with an alcoholic is never easy.

Obvious they may be, but they can never be overemphasized.

Be it a teen alcoholic, partner, parent or grandparent - life does not run smoothly with an alcohol dependent.

This page has been written to give you the information and advice you need to cope with living with an alcoholic.

I am not saying it will be easy but, armed with the information here, I hope you will be able to make choices about the situation you are in.

Click on the links contained within the headlines to learn more about that specific topic.

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Are You Enabling an Alcoholic in Your Family?

Do you live with an alcoholic?

Are you trying to help them?

Then you might just be allowing them to continue with their drinking?

A crazy thing for me to say? Well, I've said and done a lot of stupid things during my life as an alcoholic.

This is not one of those times.

Many people who try to help a loved one with their alcoholism actually enable them to continue with their destructive behavior!

Read my page on enabling to find out more about how you may well be encouraging your loved one to drink(albeit unconsciously).

Living with an Alcoholic?
Are you Codependent?

Some people who live with an alcoholic get addicted to that person.

YES, you heard me right, they GET ADDICTED to the alcoholic in their lives.

They are dependent on that person. That is they depend on them to feel good about themselves. They are CODEPENDENT.

AN EXAMPLE OF CODEPENDENCY: If the alcoholic is in a bad mood so is the codependent. So the codependent will try and make the alcoholic happy. If the alcoholic is happy so is the codependent. How do you make an alcoholic happy..?

For more on this topic read codependency in relationships.

How to Spot Alcoholic Behavior

It can be difficult to spot the first signs of alcoholism.

Alcoholics are masters of deception and can keep their addiction secret for many years. At least in the first stages of alcoholism.

Denial is a feature of alcoholism. It can be so strong that even the alcoholic doesn't realize he or she has an addiction.

However, there are signs/symptoms of alcoholism that can be seen if you know what to look for.

Read my page on spotting alcoholic behavior to discover whether you or someone you care about is drinking alcoholically.

Also be sure to read about the personality of an alcoholic.

Self-Help For Those Who
Love An Alcoholic

Loving someone who is addicted to alcohol can be a tortuous experience. An "emotional roller-coaster", "like living in hell", "alcohol seems to be his first love" are just some of the things I've heard from those who are trying to cope with loving an alcoholic.

Despite the different experiences people have of living with an alcohol dependent, what, in my experience, they all want is not just help for their loved one but help for themselves. C.P.Lehman in his book Help Me! I'm in love With An Addict gives the significant others of alcoholics the tools and confidence to get their lives back while offering support and encouragement to their loved one.

Coping with an Alcoholic

It's not easy dealing with an alcoholic at the best of times. Particularly if the alcoholic in question is someone you care about.

Read coping with an alcoholic to discover strategies to help you deal with the alcoholic in your life.

Also follow this link to get support for families of alcoholics.

Are you Married to an Alcoholic or the Wife of an Alcoholic?

Are you in a relationship with an alcoholic?

What are the consequences of having a drink dependent husband/wife or partner?

What kind of support is there for those in alcoholic relationships?

Learn more about alcoholism in marriage.

Children and Alcohol: Teenage Drinking Facts

Parents worry about their children, it's only natural.

Along with smoking, drinking is the number one concern of parents.

Read teenage drinking facts to understand alcoholism and youth and to learn what you can do about it.

Alcohol Abuse Intervention

Worried about the drinking of someone you care about? Maybe it's time to confront them about their drinking and encourage them to seek treatment.

Read alcohol abuse intervention to learn more about the process and how to go about it.

Are You Dating an Alcoholic?

Does you date drink heavily? Worried that he/she might be an alcoholic?

You're right to be worried. Dating an alcoholic is no fun. They will always put alcohol first- it is their first and true love.

You will always come a poor second to the drink.

Go to dating an alcoholic? to learn if you are dating an alcoholic, and what you can do about it.

Signs Of An Alcoholic

Is a member of your family an alcoholic and you don't even realize it? It pays to be able to recognize the signs as alcohol dependency caught early is much easier to treat than more advanced alcoholism.

Read signs of an alcoholic to discover the three major signs of alcohol dependency in a family member.

Alcoholism and the Elderly

Worried about an elderly member of your family.

Do you think they are drinking too much?

Alcoholism in the elderly is on the rise. To find out why and what you can do about it click here.

Living with an Alcoholic
Teen Alcoholism

Teen alcohol abuse statistics show a worrying rise in teenage alcohol abuse.

What are the causes and how do we treat adolescents who have alcohol issues?

If you are concerned about a teenager you care about then read teen alcoholism for advice and information.

Living With an Alcoholic
Adolescent Alcoholism

There's no easy way to figure out if your teen has an adolescent alcoholism problem.

As you'll see, many of the signs and symptoms of teen alcohol abuse can also be considered as typical adolescent behavior.

However, combined with your intuition, this list of signs of adolescent alcoholism is as good a place as any to start, if you are concerned about an adolescent's behavior.

Living with an Alcoholic
Alcoholism Intervention

An alcoholic intervention is a process in which the alcoholic is talked to by family members and friends concerning his drinking behavior and how his excessive, chronic, and irresponsible drinking has affected himself and virtually everyone associated with him or her.

For more on how to conduct an intervention, when not to undertake an intervention and 10 tips for a successful intervention, read alcoholism intervention.

Living with an Alcoholic
How to Help an Alcoholic

Helping an alcoholic is not a matter of caring for them and trying to get them to stop drinking. In fact this is the worst thing you can do.

To find out more about how to REALLY help an alcohol dependent read how to help an alcoholic.

Living with an Alcoholic
Alanon Meeting Online

Just as there are meetings for Alcoholics, so there are meetings for those living with the alcoholic.

And just as there are online meetings for alcoholics, so there are online meetings for those living with an alcoholic.

The most popular offline and online meetings for those coping with an alcoholic are run by Al-anon.

For more on how these meetings work and how to find one, read Alanon Meeting Online.

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