How Alcohol Addiction Affects The Whole Family: 10 Key Observations

Alcohol addiction is an issue that won’t just affect you as an individual. It’s something that will affect the entire family as well. This guide will go over the ten key observations that you need to be aware of regarding this situation with alcohol addiction and family.

The thing with addiction is that it can be harmful to a person even if they haven’t touched alcohol.

Let’s take a look now at the following list below:

It can affect your relationships with family

Alcohol addiction can affect your home life. Especially the relationships with your immediate family. Your spouse and children are among those who will be instantly affected by this addiction.

There are many reasons. One, you may be absent from family activities because you may be too drunk. Or you may be acting in a negative behavior that can cause your family members to get upset.

Consistent occurrences can cause a deterioration in relationships. It can even break a home apart.

 It hurts financial priorities

Alcohol never comes cheap. The costs will add up over time. As this happens, you’ll also be shirking any kind of financial responsibilities.

In other words, you may find yourself in debt. It can also get to the point where you may lose things due to repossession. You may also force yourself to sell items you don’t want to let go of in an effort to keep you and your family financially afloat.

If you are working, you are doing your part to provide for your family. When your money is mostly going towards alcohol, you’re not fulfilling that responsibility. For that reason, your family might fall apart because they find themselves going without (even the living necessities).

It can cause marital issues

Marital issues from alcohol addiction are possible. For example, there may be instances of arguments that can also lead to domestic violence. You might not be in the right frame of mind to be aware of your behavior and actions.

Aside from potential issues leading to marital issues, infidelity may also be a possibility. You may be around someone who may be dealing with similar alcohol issues. Since alcohol is known to lower inhibitions, such impulsive behavior such as infidelity can occur.

Martial issues can cause a family to fall apart and alcohol can fuel it. This is one more reason why help should never be refused when it comes to alcohol addiction. Your family should be there to support you during your treatment rather than be elsewhere distancing from you.

Dishonesty can happen

If there is one thing that matters in the family, it’s honesty. You want to be honest and transparent with those who are important to you. Alcohol addiction can cause you to lie about what you’re doing, who you’ve been with, and so on.

This is done in an effort to cover up your actual activities. You do it out of fear of shame or disappointing your family. It’s important that you do your part to clean up this part of your act.

With dishonesty, there’s a loss of trust. For some of your family members, it may be hard to regain that trust from them.

Social interactions can be hurtful

While under the influence of alcohol, you may be letting the handle fly in terms of social interactions. Because your thought process is different compared to being sober, you may not be thinking before speaking. For this reason, you may do something that may hurt a person emotionally.

That person might feel sad or even angry. Things can even get to the point of escalation. Alcohol addiction can lead to a person not being aware or even thinking about what they are doing.

For this reason, you may want to talk with them about this when they are sober. They may also be in a clear enough mind to consider the help they need.

The entire family may feel neglected

If someone chooses alcohol over family, it’s a sad thing to happen. Because the entire family will feel that they’re being neglected or disregarded. This can affect them physically and mentally.

This is something you don’t want to happen. Your family wants you to be there for them. They don’t want to feel that you’re far away even if you happen to be in the next room.

It may be an embarrassment at get-togethers

If you host family get-togethers, there is a chance that alcohol may be available. You may also have someone that is already inebriated to the point where they may cause trouble. This can cause shame and even embarrassment for the family.

The people who visit your home should not have to see what happens behind closed doors in your home. For that reason, it’s important to get the help you need to beat your alcohol addiction. People want to come for the company and stay for the good times, not the bad ones.

It can also be ‘passed down’

Genetics could play a role in how other family members could develop addiction issues. At the same time, a family member living in an environment where alcohol is involved can increase such risks as well. So it may be a good idea to not set the wrong example for other family members (especially the young children in your family).

It can hurt child development

Alcohol can be a threat to a child’s development, even if they haven’t been born yet. Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) can lead to low birth weight, difficulties in development and learning (when they are older), and inability to function regularly can occur.

If the child is born afterwards, you may not be in the right frame of mind to help develop your child’s abilities as they grow up. Your children are your priority and so is their growth process.

Alcohol addiction can lead to neglect and it can be a negative for your child in so many ways.

Addiction can cause loss of life

The death of a family member is always something no one wants to deal with. Because of alcohol addiction, you may risk issues that can be fatal. This can include alcohol poisoning and even long term health effects such as cirrhosis and even certain chronic diseases.

Because of this, alcohol addiction must be done away with. Your life is worth living. Your family is worth living for.

The sooner you get the help to beat alcohol addiction, the better. Now is always better than never. Plus, your life depends on it.