You feel like you’re watching a bad movie in slow motion. Your loved one's alcohol use has crossed the line and their life is unraveling before your eyes. And your life, too, to some extent.
Slightly more than 10% of Americans have an alcohol use disorder, which is an alarmingly high number. If you feel your loved one might have joined these numbers, having that difficult conversation can be challenging.
As a specialist in alcohol and substance use disorders, board-certified psychologist Dr. Trey Cole and our team here at Quandary Peak Counseling want to provide a few tips for approaching a loved one about their alcohol use.
Before approaching your loved one, make sure that you fully understand alcohol use disorders, which are complex mental and physical health issues.
A substance use disorder like alcoholism can hijack a person’s brain and body in the forms of addiction and dependence. So you need a good grasp of what is happening to your loved one when they’re in the throes of this disease.
A good way to understand more about alcohol use disorders and for guidance on how to handle the situation, we urge you to contact us before you have a discussion with your loved one.
Not only can we help you better understand the situation, we can come up with a treatment plan that you can present to your loved one.
Once you see a path forward for your loved one, it’s time to have the talk, but we urge you to choose your time wisely.
Confronting your loved one when they’ve been drinking is never a good time. And avoid large family situations to bring the matter up.
Instead, we recommend finding a quiet moment when you can sit down and talk quietly and without interruption in a safe space.
Aside from being worried, your loved one’s drinking problem has likely spilled over into your life and your patience is wearing thin.
Approach your loved one about their drinking in the form of a concerned conversation and not a confrontation. Your loved one’s brain is not their own, and their addiction will respond to anger with even more anger and the conversation won’t get very far.
Remember that your loved one is sick, so a compassionate approach is better suited to this talk, as you want them to accept and concede that they need the help you’re offering.
Again, we’re happy to help you plan this challenging conversation, and we can give you the tools you need to help your loved one through this difficult time.
To sit down with an alcohol use disorder specialist, please call our office in Denver, Colorado, at 720-675-7918, or request an appointment online today.
