Spot the Signs Youre Married to a Functional Alcoholic and How to Treat ItSpot the Signs Youre Married to a Functional Alcoholic and How to Treat It

Sometimes, a high-functioning alcoholic, or someone with any form of SUD, will manipulate others in order to sabotage attempts at rehabilitation. In general, the objective is to elicit feelings of pity or compassion in you on their behalf.

They might ask the person about health problems they are experiencing and tell them if there’s a link to chronic drinking. This conversation should not take place at a time when the person is drunk. Wait until they’re sober and carefully broach the topic of their drinking. Seeing the signs of codependence in your marriage is the first step toward making needed changes. The dysfunctional type of relating, though, is not the only thing that needs changing. Hopefully, you can persuade your husband to get help for his alcoholism.

How to Help a High-Functioning Person with Alcohol Use Disorder

The wives of alcoholic clients might employ various coping strategies to curb the ill effects of their partner’s drinking. While some strategies have more positive outcomes than others yet individual differences exist. However, even high-functioning alcoholics can’t keep drinking problems a secret forever. Key warning signs that people are alcoholics include always ordering alcohol when they go out or struggling to control how much they drink. Boyfriends, girlfriends or partners of functional alcoholics may also experience emotional or relationship problems.

Sometimes, the alcohol abusing spouse is not able to hold down a job or is simply unwilling due to the abuse’s debilitating nature. Of course, just because a spouse is divorcing an alcoholic does not mean he or she should sit on the sideline and be pressed into a lack of financial support. The functional alcoholic privately suffers but publicly shows little to no evidence of it. Those are courageous men and women who have overcome a terrible disease that can have debilitating consequences on the body and essentially every other aspect of life. Every day, week, month and year continues to be a battle for them to remain sober.

Why Functional Alcoholics and Codependent Wives are Common

While cirrhosis scars from excessive drinking are irreversible, quitting alcohol and leading a healthier lifestyle can help your liver heal from alcohol-related liver disease. Functional alcoholics differ from those who struggle with alcoholism, primarily in how alcohol affects their lives. If you’re the loved one of someone in either group, it’s important to know how to deal with an alcoholic effectively if you want to help them get well.

These groups give people affected by someone else’s alcoholism a safe environment to talk about the impact that the person has on their life. Group members include peers who provide comfort and advice to one another. Many people who attend support group meetings experience therapeutic benefits. We provide integrated treatment for mental health disorders and addiction.

An intervention is not about how to control the substance user; it is about how to let go of believing you can.

It may be necessary to consider residential treatment, where qualified professionals can stabilize and treat your spouse. Family First Interventionists perform a pre-intervention assessment to help determine the level of care for the alcoholic. This process can help the family see the degree of severity their loved one is at. Some questions we ask may not seem relevant, and they are intended to help determine how much help your loved one may require. Contacting a professional interventionist or other addiction professionals could provide you with some insight and feedback on these questions. When you read through the questions of these assessment instruments, you will see how interested they are in determining behavior as well as the effects of consumption.

You might start noticing that your partner is different when sober. If they cannot get their drink, they may say outrageous things or be very irritated and moody. You may think that “my boyfriend is an alcoholic” or “I’m married to a high-functioning alcoholic,” and there haven’t been any repercussions that you have had to face so far. They hold https://ecosoberhouse.com/ steady jobs and ties with friends, family, and the community. There may be many reasons why someone is hesitant to seek help — from lack of awareness to stigma and shame. “For example, you may notice your spouse drinking more beers at dinner, sleeping less and less, and increasingly on edge well before they start missing workdays,” Grawert adds.

Articles Related to Alcoholism

But I’m not going to be like everybody else and tell you you’re wrong. And no amount of shaming from your family or friends is going to force you into a decision you aren’t ready to make. Although an intervention can take many forms, many of these meetings open with each participant stating how the alcoholic’s behavior has harmed or disappointed them. The alcoholic is then presented with a plan of care, including a proposal of consequences if they decide to refuse. For instance, the alcoholic may be denied visitation rights or may be faced with a marital separation if he decides not to seek help. An alcoholic in denial may become extremely manipulative, tearful, angry or hostile when faced with the need for alcohol treatment.

If he is open to treatment, the two of you can discuss different addiction treatment types and their benefits. The classic picture of an alcoholic is someone who always drinks too much and whose life is falling apart because of it. As some alcoholics do, he has sought help, and we’re going on two years with our new, less tumultuous lifestyle. But he had to hit rock bottom high functioning alcoholic to do it, and he dragged me down with him. While they are in a good mood, a functioning alcoholic is more prone than usual to incorporate what you say into their routine. Below is how to approach someone showing signs of high-functioning alcoholism to talk about the issue. Liver damage is the most talked about physical consequence and that is a concern almost immediately.