How can we help a person who suffers from alcohol problems? What can we do to make him realize that he is facing a disorder? Find out how to approach in these cases.
Do you feel like a person close to you drinks too much? In this situation, it is completely normal for you to consider what to do because seeing someone you love in this situation can be very painful.
How to help an alcoholic person?
People who have an alcohol dependency may behave in a way in which their relationships with others may be more than affected. If someone close to you may be suffering from alcohol problems we recommend that you take the following into account:
- Find out about alcoholism: Before acting, it is important that you are clear if this person suffers from an alcoholism problem. In fact, alcohol abuse disorder involves much more than drinking too much. For example, they often use alcohol as a coping mechanism or to adapt socially on certain occasions.
- Offer your support: Let the person suffering from alcohol problems know that you are available to help. Even so, you should try to formulate these approaches in a positive and supportive way, that is, avoiding being directive or therapist.
- Choose a suitable time and place: Before having this conversation, try to choose a time and place that is appropriate for what you want to say to the person. That is, try to have this conversation in a place where you know you will have peace of mind and privacy with the person involved,
- Encourage them to talk: As we have indicated, the alcoholic people They usually face their problems with this substance. Therefore, one way to know how to help an alcoholic who does not recognize it is precisely by talking about what causes these behaviors.
- Listen to them honestly: The best way to help an alcoholic It is to be patient with their attitudes. This does not mean allowing everything from this person, but rather being prepared to face certain negative reactions. Therefore, it is vital not to take some negative attitudes on the part of the person with alcohol problems personally. That is, give them time and space to reflect on what you just told them.
- Suggest that he see a professional psychologist: It is important that when faced with a case of alcoholism, seeking treatment from a mental health professional is suggested. This is vital because failure to do so can have serious physical and mental consequences for people who suffer from this disorder.
These are some tips that you can apply to help a person suffering from alcohol problems Even so, in this situation, you must remember that you must also protect your mental health before that of others.
What to avoid when helping a person suffering from alcohol problems?
In addition to trying to focus on your physical and mental health, there are attitudes that you should avoid if you want to help an alcoholic:
- Don’t take any negative reaction personally: It is normal that the alcoholic people have some negative reactions when others point out their problem. Furthermore, it is expected that they will react with both setbacks and denials. Therefore, it is important not to take their attitudes personally, but rather you should try to give the person affected time and space.
- Don’t try to threaten or ‘punish’: Negative appeals will only increase the drinker’s feelings of guilt. In fact, these types of attempts to help can end up causing a more negative effect and increase the affected person’s compulsion to drink.
- Don’t try to protect them: Covering up your behavior or justifying it will only cause more reasons to continue tolerating these alcoholic attitudes. That is, trying to protect those who suffer from alcohol problems will only prevent them from perceiving the negative consequences of this behavior.
- Do not blame yourself: When the alcoholic is a very close loved one, there are many people who can blame themselves for this type of behavior. This is a thought we should avoid at all costs.
Treatment for an alcohol use disorder is an ongoing process. In fact, even though the alcoholic person goes to therapy, the reality is that they can succumb because alcohol is present in many different areas. Therefore, it is important to support the person both during and after treatment.