More often, they drink due to life situations that can cause anxiety, fear, depression, worry, and other negative expressions. Addiction specialists should begin treatment by addressing alcohol misuse and mental health concerns that may cause or contribute to ongoing drinking habits.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, drinking is considered to be in the moderate or low-risk range for women at no more than three drinks in any one day and no more than seven drinks per week. For men, it is no more than four drinks a day and no more than 14 drinks per week.
Accepting that your partner has a drinking problem without making excuses for them or relating problems resulting from too much drinking to other factors, can be the first important step towards their recovery. The next step is to tell them how their drinking is impacting you.
Excessive Drinking or Drinking Alone
Maybe you notice your husband has a few cocktails every night. Even if it seems as though your partner's drinking isn't affecting their daily life, excessive drinking and a tolerance build-up are a major sign that they may be an alcoholic or struggling with addiction.
Generally, people drink to either increase positive emotions or decrease negative ones. This results in all drinking motives falling into one of four categories: enhancement (because it's exciting), coping (to forget about my worries), social (to celebrate), and conformity (to fit in).
“This study shows that, contrary to popular opinion, most people who drink too much are not alcohol dependent or alcoholics,” said Robert Brewer, M.D., M.S.P.H., Alcohol Program Lead at CDC and one of the report's authors.
Alcoholism is also known as alcohol addiction, alcohol misuse or alcohol dependence. Medically, it's recognised as a type of 'alcohol-use disorder' which can be treated.
Your problem is their problem. Myth: I don't drink every day OR I only drink wine or beer, so I can't be an alcoholic. Fact: Alcoholism is NOT defined by what you drink, when you drink it, or even how much you drink. It's the EFFECTS of your drinking that define a problem.
Although it may not feel like your place, it's not unreasonable to ask your significant other to get help for their addiction. You are their life partner, and their addiction has a serious effect on your relationship. However, it's often a difficult subject to approach.
Ways alcohol affects the male body
Alcohol causes a range of serious health problems, for both men and women, including seven types of cancer, increased blood pressure and liver disease. The combined risk of harm due to alcohol, smoking and obesity are greater than each on their own.
From intimacy issues, mistrust, a lack of communication to abuse, lack of emotional availability to financial burden and the adverse effects on young children; alcohol abuse in a romantic relationship can have severe effects on both partners, their children, and other family members.
However, when you are unable to deal with the stress caused by marital problems, you might start looking for unhealthy and potentially destructive coping mechanisms – such as drinking. Sometimes both spouses drink heavily in these conditions that can lead to a downward spiral and more negative interactions.
Symptoms of alcohol overdose include mental confusion, difficulty remaining conscious, vomiting, seizures, trouble breathing, slow heart rate, clammy skin, dulled responses (such as no gag reflex, which prevents choking), and extremely low body temperature. Alcohol overdose can lead to permanent brain damage or death.
In 1980, the third edition of the Manual, DSM-3, identified alcoholism as a subset of a mental health disorder. The current edition, DSM-5, classifies alcoholism, now referred to as Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) or Substance Use Disorder (SUD), as a mental disorder presenting both physical and mental symptoms.
In addition, suppose an alcoholic is physically abusing their partner or children, especially in life-threatening ways or causing severe psychological damage and financial strain. In that case, divorce is almost always recommended.
Be patient and stay calm
Remember that it's their decision to change and not yours. If someone is angry, aggressive, or repetitive, just try and be as patient as possible and don't react to provocation. Instead try doing an activity first and then bring up what you want to talk about.
If you have a husband who can't or won't stop drinking, he likely has an alcohol use disorder. As the spouse of someone who struggles with drinking, you face a lot of negative effects, from abuse to your own mental health issues. It is important to take steps to help your spouse and to protect yourself.
Knowing When you Have a Drinking Problem
You have not been able to cut down or stop drinking on your own, even though you have tried or you want to. You spend a lot of time drinking, being sick from drinking, or getting over the effects of drinking. Your urge to drink is so strong, you cannot think about anything else.
Long-Term Health Risks. Over time, excessive alcohol use can lead to the development of chronic diseases and other serious problems including: High blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, liver disease, and digestive problems. Cancer of the breast, mouth, throat, esophagus, voice box, liver, colon, and rectum.
While drinking an entire bottle of wine can be considered excessive, especially when looking at the measures for moderate drinking, it's still not a definitive answer. That said, it's important to consider the health implications of consuming that much wine daily. For example, how does it impact your diet?
The drinking pattern was classified into three categories according to frequency of drinking (during the previous 6 months) and amount of alcohol intake: (1) continuous drinkers = (almost) daily alcohol consumption without binges; (2) frequent heavy drinkers = frequent alcohol consumption (more than 3 days/week) with ...