Alcoholic at Home - How to Deal with an Alcoholic? | NG

Update: 17.12.2024

Alcoholic at Home – How to Help?

Nowadays, starting treatment for alcohol disease is easier than before. Currently, many public and private clinics offer their help. State addiction treatment centers mainly use psychological therapy, which is very useful for identifying problems causing alcoholism. For many alcoholics at home, stopping drinking is impossible without health consequences. Therefore, private medical clinics first perform a cleansing alcohol detox, and then with the patient's consent, implant Esperal (alcohol implant) forcing abstinence. Self-treatment of an alcoholic at home without consulting a specialist may not be effective or may only provide temporary improvement. It is worth seeking help from doctors, because only they can professionally assess the situation without any emotional coloring.

How to Deal with an Alcoholic at Home?

Alcoholism is primarily associated with shame for the family. Constant excuses, hiding, and pretending that the problem doesn't exist. This is precisely the fundamental mistake. As long as alcohol addiction is not treated as a disease that can be cured, the alcoholic will certainly not feel motivated to change. Accepting the situation as it is is the worst possible solution. Alcoholics need to be supported and helped, but in the situation of attempting to treat the alcohol disease and therapy, not at the moment of its progression. The person addicted to alcohol should understand what alcoholism means. They must feel all the hardships of life and face them.

How to Deal with an Alcoholic Who Doesn't Want Treatment?

• Give Up Threats and Emotional Blackmail

Constantly pointing out mistakes and inducing shame in the alcoholic only deepens the problem and does not motivate change. Seeking causes of alcohol disease in an accusatory form only intensifies symptoms.

• Don't Lecture the Alcoholic

Addicted people who are binge drinking often experience so-called memory blackouts. All moralizing conversations will not be remembered, and even if they are, not for long. Promises made in the moment of intoxication certainly cannot be fulfilled.

• Stop Controlling

How much someone drank and at what pace is often impossible to verify. Searching for and pouring out alcohol is only additional motivation for the alcoholic to seek newer and newer methods of getting drunk. In this way, one supports the alcoholic in addiction instead of controlling it.

• Protect Yourself from Codependency

The fact that the rest of the family members will also start drinking will not make the alcoholic see the problem. The alcohol disease will progress and ultimately lead to pathological behaviors.

• Support the Addicted, but Not the Addiction

Some people adjust their lifestyle to the alcoholic. By doing so, they unconsciously agree to the progression of the alcohol disease.

• Let the Alcoholic Be Master of Their Fate

Taking over the alcoholic's daily duties such as cleaning up empty bottles or explanations to the employer means permission for the development of alcoholism. Family help is very important, but in critical moments one must say STOP for improvement to be possible. Only understanding the alcohol disease and seeing the truth can encourage the addict to start alcoholism treatment. Neither coercion nor permission is a solution.

How to Deal with an Alcoholic After Therapy?

Living with a sober alcoholic can be difficult. At the moment of starting therapy, as well as its end, one must remember that alcoholism is a chronic disease. This means that not only can it be overcome, but it can always return with doubled force. Alcoholics need constant support in sobriety. Provoking the addicted person to take a drink or reproaching them about past events is certainly not a good solution. Starting alcoholism treatment is synonymous with continuous work on strong will and emerging temptations. In the moment of even temporary weakness, it's worth convincing the alcoholic to talk with a psychologist or use methods that help cope with problems that were once softened by alcohol. In the case of alcoholism, one must be prepared for constant struggle, but the help of family and loved ones often makes it easier to stick to resolutions.

Consequences of Alcohol Abuse Among Elderly People

The latest research clearly shows that among older people, the metabolism of alcohol and other substances proceeds somewhat differently than in the case of the younger age group. This is influenced by physiological changes in liver function. Seniors and elderly people are therefore even more exposed to the unfavorable consequences of alcohol consumption. Let's also remember that older people are also more prone to developing other diseases, such as dementia or cognitive function disorders. Moreover, older people are undoubtedly the largest consumers of medications. Medications, as is known, enter into numerous chemical interactions both with each other and with alcohol substances themselves. These can interact both with each other and with alcohol. These medications can then weaken their effect and simply stop working effectively, and in the worst case – cause death or permanent organ damage. Read also: Esperal and Alcohol – What Are the Side Effects of Drinking with Alcohol Implant It's also worth bearing in mind that the identical dose of alcohol for different age groups carries different consequences. A dose relatively harmless for a younger person may threaten the health and even life of an older person.

Alcoholism in Elderly People – Statistics

According to a survey conducted by the Medical University in Lublin, all surveyed elderly people in the age group 65+ sporadically drink alcohol. None of the surveyed declared abstinence. Occasional drinking was declared by 83.6 percent of respondents, and several times a week – 16.4 percent. This means that although the consumption of alcoholic substances indeed decreases with age – it is still a common phenomenon. Women statistically drink less alcohol than men, however their chance of starting drinking in older age – and thus falling into alcoholism – is greater. Additionally, this chance significantly increases in the case of single women.

Why Do Elderly People and Seniors Reach for Alcohol?

In the case of elderly people, as well as younger ones, the main factor leading to reaching for alcohol is the inability to cope with the situation they find themselves in. In the case of elderly people, however, this problem is somewhat different. Especially people who have transitioned from full activity to retirement age are in the risk group. The results of research conducted by POLSenior show alarming results. In the group of people after the age of 65, over 26 percent of respondents showed symptoms of depression, which also translates into the development of addictions, including alcoholism. Source: Cierpiałkowska L., Ziarko M., Psychologia uzależnień – alkoholizm, http://m.publio.pl/files/samples/27/54/9b/48185/Psychologiauzaleznienalkoholizmdemo.pdf Armor D. J., Polich J. M., Stambul H. B., Alcoholism and treatment, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1977-21348-000 Wnuk M., Marcinkowski J.T., Alkoholizm – przegląd koncepcji oraz metod leczenia, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/MarcinWnuk/publication/303844169Alkoholizm-przegladkoncepcjiorazmetodleczeniaAlcoholism-reviewofconceptionsandmethodsoftreatment/links/5758020908ae05c1ec19e548/Alkoholizm-przeglad-koncepcji-oraz-metod-leczenia-Alcoholism-review-of-conceptions-and-methods-of-treatment.pdf Moos, R.H., Finney, J.W., Cronkite, R.C., Alcoholism treatment: Context, process, and outcome, https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1990-98391-000.

---

:::cta Need Help Fighting Addiction? Our specialists are ready to help you. Call or book an online appointment. Call: 880 808 880 | Book Appointment :::