While you can’t do the hard work of overcoming addiction for your loved one, your patience, love, and support can play a crucial part in their long-term recovery. With these guidelines, you can help ease your loved one’s suffering, preserve your own mental health and well-being, and restore calm and stability to your relationship and family life. Alcoholics Anonymous® (also known as “AA”) and other 12-step programs provide peer support for people quitting or cutting back on their drinking. Combined with treatment led by health care providers, mutual-support groups can offer a valuable added layer of support. It’s important to have people you can talk honestly and openly with about what you’re going through.
How alcohol abuse affects family and friends
Before you speak with them, try putting yourself in their shoes. The most important thing is to let them know that you care and that you’ll be there when they need your support. If someone you care about has a drinking problem, A.A. Has helped more than two million alcoholics stop drinking. Recovery works through one alcoholic sharing their experience with another. If you live far from them, Nowinski suggests, consider having a caregiver visit a few days a week to provide companionship and let the family know of troubling changes in behavior.
Cutting back vs. quitting alcohol altogether
When someone spends a lot of time drinking (and recovering from drinking), quitting or cutting down can leave a huge hole in their lives. Encourage your loved one to develop new hobbies and interests that don’t involve drinking. Once your loved one has identified their potential triggers, learning how to avoid them is an important part of relapse prevention. Research viable treatment options online before speaking with your loved one, make calls to treatment centers that appear appropriate for your loved one, and ask them any questions you may have. Taking care of yourself is important when you’re concerned for someone you love–yet it’s sometimes one of the first things people push aside. Unfortunately, if you feel burnt out, you’ll be less capable of providing love and support to your loved one.
Supporting your loved one’s recovery
Above all, getting informed helps you see that your loved one is sick and suffering, not trying to hurt you. John C. Umhau, MD, MPH, CPE is board-certified in addiction medicine and preventative medicine. He is the medical director at Alcohol Recovery Medicine. For over 20 years Dr. Umhau was a senior clinical investigator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
- Try to roll with any resistance to your suggestions.
- Your loved one’s motivation for recovery hinges on the encouragement and support they get from others around them.
- After you’ve taken all these measures, remember that you cannot force your loved one into treatment.
- Recovery is an ongoing process, requiring time and patience.
- Health care providers diagnose AUD when a person has two or more of the symptoms listed below.
- Don’t forget to shower, either, or to get yourself out of bed each morning; live your daily life as much like everybody else as you can.
How to approach your loved one
- Ask for concrete commitments and then follow up on them.
- American Addiction Centers (AAC) is committed to delivering original, truthful, accurate, unbiased, and medically current information.
- The Navigator offers a step-by-step process to finding a highly qualified professional treatment provider.
- Don’t consider your part done after your friend or family member is in therapy.
- Alcohol use disorder, formerly known as alcoholism, is an addiction to alcohol.
- In the early stages of change, denial is a huge obstacle.
Theories suggest that for certain people drinking has a different and stronger impact that can lead to alcohol use disorder. If your pattern of drinking results in repeated significant distress and problems functioning in your daily life, you likely have alcohol use disorder. However, even a mild disorder can escalate and lead to serious problems, so early treatment is important. Treatment for alcohol use disorder can vary, depending on your needs. Treatment may involve a brief intervention, individual or group counseling, an outpatient program, or a residential inpatient stay. Working to stop alcohol use to improve quality of life is the main treatment goal.
Want to talk to someone about A.A.?
For all who think they may have a drinking problem. Natural consequences may mean that you refuse to spend any time with the person dependent on alcohol. Remember, it’s not your responsibility to “cure” their AUD. You just happen to love someone who is probably going to need professional treatment to get healthy again. Keep in mind that someone with alcohol dependence usually goes through a few stages before they are ready to make a change.
The information we provide is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It should not be used in place of the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare providers. Recovery from alcoholism or a drinking problem can be a bumpy road. About half the people who complete alcohol abuse treatment for the first time stay alcohol-free, while the other half relapse and return to drinking at some point.
Overcoming Alcohol Addiction
- Motivational enhancement is conducted over a short period of time to build and strengthen motivation to change drinking behavior.
- Whether you choose to tackle your alcohol addiction by going to rehab, getting therapy, or taking a self-directed treatment approach, support is essential.
- But the reality is that not even the person dependent on alcohol can control their drinking, try as they may.
- But maybe they drinka few glasses of wine each night to help them fall asleep.
- It’s helpful to continue attending Al-Anon meetings, to learn to differentiate between your issues and your loved one’s issues, and take responsibility only for your own.
It is also necessary to understand the social and psychological reasons why someone may develop AUD. You will want to understand what will be asked of you in order to decide what treatment best suits your needs. Matching the right therapy to the individual is important to its success. It may also be helpful to determine whether the treatment will be adapted to meet changing needs as they arise. During this first discussion, it’s important to show how much you care about your loved one.
Suggest therapy
The person with the drinking problem needs to take responsibility for their actions. Don’t lie or cover things up to protect someone from the consequences of their drinking. Alcohol recovery is a process—one that often involves setbacks. A drinking relapse doesn’t mean you’re a failure or that you’ll never be able to reach your goal. Each drinking relapse is an opportunity to learn and Hope House Boston Review recommit to sobriety, so you’ll be less likely to relapse in the future. Whether you choose to tackle your alcohol addiction by going to rehab, getting therapy, or taking a self-directed treatment approach, support is essential.
Books and Resources for Family Members
However, it is crucial that an individual with AUD receives professional medical help, as well. Research shows that most people who have alcohol problems are able to reduce their drinking or quit entirely. Remember that changing long-standing patterns is hard, takes time, and requires repeated efforts. We usually experience setbacks along the way, learn from them, and then keep going.