Functional Alcoholics and Codependent Wives Leave a comment

An in-home treatment program allows your experience to be customized to your spouse’s specific needs and the severity of the addiction. All state-of-the-art components for treatment are available within the comfort of your home, and medical attention is on hand as needed. While other options are effective, a growing number of clients are seeing the benefits of in-home alcohol detox treatment. Put simply; it is taking the best of both residential and outpatient programs and placing them in the comfort of your own home.

• Diagnosing alcoholism can be difficult because it often goes unnoticed by family and friends.
• They often compare themselves to other alcoholics who are in much worse conditions.
• They can often maintain a career, practice healthy relationships, and remain financially stable.
• There can also be declines in their mental and overall health, especially if they’re not eating healthy diets or engaging in physical activity.
• If you say, “I’m leaving if you don’t get treatment,” then be prepared to follow through.

Chronic heavy drinkers can display a functional tolerance to the point they show few obvious signs of intoxication even at high blood alcohol concentrations, which in others would be incapacitating. Surround yourself with supportive people who will contribute to a healthy environment and slip and relapse prevention. Liver damage is the most talked about physical consequence and that is a concern almost immediately. Alcoholics can go on to develop heart, respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders. There can also be declines in their mental and overall health, especially if they’re not eating healthy diets or engaging in physical activity. You may begin to notice that a couple of beers after work has turned into a six-pack or even a case.

Physical Health Risks

While they may seem to manage work and responsibilities effectively, the continual drinking and the pervasive scent of alcohol are telling signs. Here are indicators that your partner, despite appearing functional, may indeed be battling an alcohol addiction and could benefit from professional treatment. Also referred to as functional alcoholics, these people usually don’t realize that they rely on alcohol to feel normal. They don’t experience the typical consequences of alcoholism, such as drunk driving arrests, financial problems or blackout episodes. Unlike other alcoholics, the term commonly used to refer to people with alcoholism, high-functioning alcoholics don’t display obvious side effects of their disease.

Unfortunately, even when functional alcoholics begin to recognize that they have a drinking problem, they still resist reaching out for help. By the time they admit the problem, their withdrawal symptoms—which can begin within a few hours after their last drink—can become more and more severe. Certain factors may increase your risk of developing an alcohol problem. Binge drinking, social pressures, family history, mental health issues, and excess alcohol use can all increase your risk of developing an alcohol use disorder. The participants in an intervention could include the alcoholic’s spouse or partner, children, parents, friends, coworkers, employer, friends and other individuals who have been affected.

Dear Abby: I want to leave my alcoholic husband but my kids are against it

Even while active alcoholics might seem to have things under control, their drinking habits carry serious hazards and consequences. Achieving healing and more beneficial connections requires recognizing the issue and getting the proper assistance. Because they can keep up the appearance of regularity, they frequently fail to acknowledge the extent of their dependency, which causes denial in both themselves and those surrounding them. This denial raises the possibility of chronic medical conditions, such as cirrhosis of the liver and brain disorders, and can delay getting care. Furthermore, alcohol effects of withdrawal can vary in severity among functional alcoholics, ranging from minor tremors and anxiety to more severe issues like delirium tremens (DTs).

• Playing the martyr role, the long-suffering caregiver bends over backward to meet the sick person’s every need.
• For example, a partial hospitalization plan (PHP) will provide high-level patient care, as you would see in an in-patient program, but your spouse would be able to live at home.
• So, the advice here is to keep away from the situation and let things happen.
• A high-functioning alcoholic often does such a good job of hiding their issues that other people don’t know the issues exist.
• But I’m not going to be like everybody else and tell you you’re wrong.
• An official diagnosis requires the input of a trained mental health addiction specialist.

How to Get Help And Find Freedom from Addiction

• This can help you gauge when your husband needs help or intervention.
• Sometimes husbands and wives of high-functioning alcoholics are the only ones who know their spouse has alcohol problems.
• In that case, it may be time to consider bringing a professional into the conversation to help facilitate meaningful dialogue.
• One person, such as an alcoholic, has ongoing needs, while the other person finds self-worth and purpose by fulfilling their needs.
• Living with an alcoholic husband requires a lot of patience, courage, and the support of people around.

You worry that if you leave, he’ll self-destruct, and you love him too much despite what he puts you through. You know that it’s a disease and that the things he does are a symptom, and you don’t want to give up on him because he’s sick. 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 to do it, and he dragged me down with him. Another consequence of alcohol use is possible legal issues, such as being caught driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). This may also cause people to stay home and drink alone, increasing their isolation.

When sharing your life with a high-functioning alcoholic, it’s crucial to recognize the impact it can have on your own mental and physical health. The concern for their well-being, the strain of their behaviors, and the uncertainty of their actions can take a toll. Discovering that your partner is struggling with high-functioning alcoholism can place you in a challenging and often lonely position.

How to Cope with an Alcoholic Spouse

However, the façade of control and stability typically masks an underlying problem with alcohol that can be just as severe and damaging as more overt forms of alcoholism. There are many signs and symptoms of an alcoholic as well as self-evaluation tests that can help you understand the disease. An official diagnosis requires the input of a trained mental health addiction specialist. Problematic drinking can have a significant financial impact on the household. Funds may be drained to purchase alcohol, or the spouse struggling with addiction may have difficulty maintaining employment. In severe cases, legal issues (like DUIs) and medical expenses arise, adding to the household’s financial burden.

Mixing Weed and Alcohol: Effects and Risks

High-functioning alcoholics tend to be very sophisticated in how they spread out their drinking to make it seem less than it is. However, despite their appearances, functioning alcoholics often need a drink to get marijuana addiction through the day. They’re also good at hiding their drinking problems from family members and friends. High-functioning alcoholism presents a unique challenge in identification due to its often subtle signs. People who are in a codependent relationship with an alcoholic prioritize the needs of the alcoholic over their personal needs. They often suffer a variety of mental health issues, such as low self-esteem and depression.

Living with an alcoholic husband requires a lot of patience, courage, and the support of people around. 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. It can be difficult to tell if your boyfriend, girlfriend or partner is an alcoholic.

• If this sounds like the scenario in your marriage, your spouse may be struggling with an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
• It is difficult to know what to do when your husband is a functioning alcoholic, but empty threats and compromises won’t improve the situation.
• Functional alcoholics may not even realize they’re actively concealing symptoms of their disorder.
• But that stress from alcohol abuse will eventually rupture and break into the relationship.
• Alternatively, it may be in an outpatient treatment program where the patient can detox while living at home.
• This can lead to further problems such as depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal.

Our state-specific resource guides offer a comprehensive overview of drug and alcohol addiction treatment options available in your area. Living with an alcoholic spouse can be fraught with emotional distress, financial strain and a deep sense of uncertainty. However, it is important to remember that you are not alone, and there are resources available to help both you and your spouse. By educating yourself about alcoholism, setting healthy boundaries and encouraging professional help, you can work toward improving your spouse’s chances of recovery. Simultaneously, prioritizing your own mental, emotional and physical well-being is paramount. Family First Intervention recognizes how powerful the dynamic of a family system is and how important the role family members play in a substance user’s decision to accept treatment for addiction.