Living with An Alcoholic

Alcohol dependency is growing on a global level at an alarming rate, and therefore it is necessary that we should learn how to live (and let live) with an Alcoholic.

One of the first tips I’d like to give here is to stop searching for the reason of the person’s alcoholism. This generally happens when you are in a romantic or family relation with the alcoholic. Going on to find the reason behind the alcoholism is like paying more attention to the gravy than the chicken. And who knows, there might simply be no reason for a person to turn alcoholic. I mean, if you find out that your husband has turned alcoholic because of the insane number of office parties he attends, you will not make him quit his job, right? And this scenario is nothing fantastic too. How many people do we know who have become addicted to smoking or coffee, simply because their colleagues or peers smoked or had coffee?

Secondly, try to support the alcoholic and get him into rehabilitation or the Alcoholic Anonymous. Once this is done, always consult the institution before taking any drastic steps. Dumping all the bottles in the house one fine day is one of the most common rash actions that a person living with an alcoholic does. Remember, a drunk is not as dangerous as an alcoholic who cannot get his daily quota of drinks. This does not mean that you should keep a warehouse full of the best liquors in the house, ready for the alcoholic’s disposal. Try to follow the rehabilitation program that the alcoholic follows, and learn about the do’s and don’ts that will help the alcoholic turn over a new leaf.

Patience bears fruit; it’s as simple as that. Dealing and living with an alcoholic is not at all a very endearing concept, and yes, living with an alcoholic may also have you face emotional, mental and physical violence. Remember the scenes in Godfather when the characters have gone into a vicious rage over their wives? That can very much be a possibility in your life if you are living with an alcoholic.

That said, living with an alcoholic is not as simple as one might think. Practical life is quite different from the lives that we imagine. You do have a very real danger of facing all kinds of abuses if you are living with an alcoholic. To use a cliché, it is only true love, patience and confidence in yourself that can make your relationship to be one of the best things that has happened to both of you.