Someone with alcohol addiction may think that it is no one’s business how much alcohol they consume for a certain amount of time. Even though alcoholism is happening to one person, it affects the entire family. Family members need to be encouraged to go to treatment so they can take care of their health as well as prevent themselves from hurting their families further.
Having a family member with alcoholism can cause major disruptions in the family’s routine. Family members will spend all of their time worrying about that family member and have no idea how to help. Alcoholics can do dangerous things like have sudden outbursts, commit domestic violence, drunk driving, or any other alcohol-induced crimes that could land them in jail. It can be traumatizing for kids to see a family member use alcohol to cope with their problems as it will teach them to do the same and causes kids to act out and do poorly in school if they are too distracted by their family member’s behavior.
Alcoholism can also affect families financially when a family member spends a ton of money at bars and liquor stores. They can lose their wallet or have large credit card bills from buying rounds at the bar. They can spend all of their cash and will be too wasted to remember where the money went to. An alcoholic family member can also be unable to hold a job such as showing up to work drunk or taking too many sick days recovering from the night before. Nursing a hangover can also prevent the alcoholic family member from following their commitments like driving their kids to school or doing the household chores.
An alcoholic family member will be unable to afford rent, utilities, mortgage, or anything else to financially support their families. It can be costly to other family members as well if they are enabling their addiction by giving them money for alcohol or making excuses for them as well as paying legal fees if they keep getting arrested. Family members will also be suffering financially and emotional if their alcoholic family member gets liver failure or any other kinds of diseases that comes from alcohol consumption. It is important to go to family therapy or Al-Anon for families to communicate with each other the effects that alcoholism can have on everyone and why it is important to stop.
Located in downtown Midland, The Springboard Center’s mission is to offer programs and services to treat alcohol and drug addiction treatment using an evidence based curriculum, 12 step programs, diet, nutrition, exercise, emotional, mental and spiritual development for a long recovery. For more information, please call us at 432-620-0255 as we are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
