Is it a problem?
You probably don't need to be told that confrontations, based on logic, appeal, guilt, accusation and whatever else you have thrown in, don't have the desired effect. However you feel that they should work ... if only you
could find the right words ... get her in the right mood ... maybe when she is hung over ... maybe this time!!!
You have probably heard the term Denial used when talking about alcoholics and problem drinkers. It tends to be used by people and organisations who believe that alcoholism is a disease and that denial is a symptom of that disease. They suggest that denial is a mechanism used to protect their drinking, some describe is as outright lying!
However when you look around at other health risk behaviours you find denial there too, eg smoking, drug use, overeating, undereating, underexercising, general unhealthybehaviourism. Few, if any, of the people engaged in these behaviours would be quick to admit that they are doing anything wrong. Come to think of it, do any of us rush to admit that we are in the wrong - about anything???
Think for a moment about the last time someone accused you of something. It may have been something trivial, a mistake or an oversight. How did you feel and how did you react? Did you own up or did you fight your corner, make excuses or just down right deny it? (Alternately you may be a paragon who never makes mistakes and in the extremely rare occasions when it does happen you immediately own up. If that is the case then this argument is wasted on you, as it is actually meant for us lesser mortals!!!)
What this is arguing is that denial is not something pathological (a symptom of an illness) but instead how most humans react when they are accused or feel under threat. And the more threatening the situation is the more robust the denial will be.
So a frontal attack accusing him of being an alcoholic will probably not be successful on two counts. First, if denial is indeed a symptom of the disease of alcoholism then it will kick in to protect the drinker. Second, if it is just a normal defence mechanism it will still be difficult to penetrate.
So if confrontation won't work what then?
Your significant drinker may have an alcohol problem (or not) she may or may not be an alcoholic or alcohol dependent and that may need a professional to diagnose. However you don't need a professional to tell YOU if YOU have a problem. If your social life has disappeared because your husband gets drunk and upsets your friends, or you have no money because your wife spends so much on wine, or you are ashamed to talk about your home circumstances, you don't need a professional to tell you that YOU have a problem. A diagnosis or denial of alcoholism does not change that.
You probably feel that the diagnosis just gives you hope that you have identified the problem and can fix it.
One of the most difficult lessons that you need to learn is that it doesn't!
Wow, bet you weren't expecting that, were you?
The drinking is his (or her) problem. However there are things you can do about it. You can influence how he drinks, where and when and even IF he drinks. But in order to do that you need to change your approach and use a system that runs counter to anything you have been using so far.
You have probably been in denial about your ability to change him as much as he has been in denial about his need to change.
Madness has been described as doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. It is now time to do something different, to change what is within your power to change and to stop wasting your time and efforts on actions that make you increasingly frustrated and feeling powerless.
In this website we will give you a new perspective and help you to step out of the shadow that alcohol is casting on your life.
Come and join Bottled-up
