living with an alcoholic

Question
I currently have my nephew (age 28) living with me. He was recently discharged from hospital with acute pancritis (sorry spelling) He has been told if he doesnt stop drinking he will die. His blood levels are now back to normal so he celebrated with more drinking! What can i do to help him stop?


Answer
Diane,



The unfortunate thing about

life is that we can only do

so much to help or change others.

That change will not hold

unless your nephew has a desire

to stop drinking.



For families about the only

possibilities are interventions

which are organized by an alcohol

counsellor and include a few concerned

family members and/or friends.



He has to face some consequences

or else he will not care to change

his lifestyle. At this point

it seems even death has not

woke him from his denial.



Just pleading to his good senses will

not work as it often takes a good

shock to open an alcoholics eyes.



You must come to terms with how

powerful this illness is.

He may not respond to any plan

you make. This does not mean

you shouldn't try but just

be aware that success is not

guaranteed even with an organized

intervention.



The best place for an alcoholic

is at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

This has saved many lives but

again he has to have a desire

to get out of his drinking problem.



Some alcoholics need to be detoxed and

attend a treatment center along

with the AA meetings for the long term.



This takes a great leveling of one's

false pride to do.

I hope you can help your nephew wake up

and seek help but do not be hard

on yourself if you can't.

No person can control alcoholism,

it is a very strong and terrible

addiction. You can find out more

about interventions by searching

the internet or talking to your

local alcohol counsellor or health

agencies.

Do not try it alone, it has to be

carefully orchestrated to bring

the alcoholic to treatment

or face consequences. This requires

someone familiar with the behaviour

and thinking of alcoholics.



I wish you luck and hope your

nephew will recover with help.



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