You probably know what alcoholism is or at least have an idea if you’ve made it this far. But do you know what it means to be codependent with an alcoholic?
One study indicated that in 1998 there were approximately 40 million codependent people in the United States. Like everything else, this number has increased over the last 25 years, and now, researchers indicate that approximately 90% of individuals display some codependency.
If you or your loved one are struggling with alcoholism or codependency due to a substance use disorder, contact SEE Purpose today to regain your purpose in life.
Signs My Loved One Is an Alcoholic
An alcoholic is a person with an alcohol use disorder, which is classified as a mental illness. Alcoholism is an illness that impacts an individual’s “reward and motivation receptors, learning and memory, and inhibitory control over behavior.” For an alcoholic, or someone suffering from an alcohol use disorder, alcohol impacts their daily home, work, and/or social life.
These identifying factors may be able to help you determine if your loved one has an alcohol use disorder.
Have they:
– consistently had more to drink than they planned?
– had so much to drink that they blacked out? Injured themselves? Injured others?
– experienced difficulties at home or work due to drinking?
– increased their risky behaviors?
– given up activities or hobbies they love?
While these factors can’t diagnose an alcohol use disorder, they are enough to recommend they get help.
SEE Purpose is a rehab center that offers treatment for alcohol use disorders in a compassionate and effective manner.
But, What Does It Mean to Be Codependent on an Alcoholic?
Living with someone who has an alcohol use disorder can be extremely challenging. Especially for those who love and care about the person.
Codependency is defined as “becoming so invested with each other that you can’t function independently.” This phenomenon is more common in relationships where one person is an alcoholic because of the way codependent relationships work.
In codependent relationships, “Codependents tend to try to control and cure the addicted person and sometimes think they have caused the addicted person to use alcohol and other drugs.” These feelings are unhealthy and can negatively impact the relationship.
Being codependent to an alcoholic is like being the ‘giver’ to a ‘taker.’ The alcoholic takes what it is you can give them, but they’re so consumed by alcohol that the codependent’s giving isn’t reciprocated. This can cause an unhealthy mental state for the codependent.
How to Get Help for Codependency
Getting help for codependency can feel terrifying. It can feel like you are not giving to or loving the person like you should. This is your brain reacting to codependency. Self-care is crucial for relationships, as is healthy give and take.
Counseling for codependency is the first step to identifying your insecurities and improving your mental health around alcoholism and your relationship. Your counselor will probably recommend you take independent time away from the relationship to foster other friend-based relationships, spend time on activities or hobbies that you enjoy, and continue to educate yourself about codependent dynamics.
Through this process, you can work to train your thought process to remember that you are enough and you didn’t cause them to become an alcoholic.
How to Get My Loved One With an Alcohol Use Disorder Help
If your loved one is struggling with an alcohol use disorder or substance use disorder that is impacting their daily life, it is important for you to tell them how it makes you feel. It can also be beneficial to give them options for sobriety.
One such option is SEE Purpose: Center for Addiction Treatment. We are an independently owned rehabilitation treatment center in Bloomfield, Indiana. Our luxury treatment center combines the best evidence-based traditional therapies with modern alternative therapies to increase whole-body healing from addiction.
By creating a specially tailored treatment plan to meet the needs of your loved ones, we can support them through detoxification, rehabilitation, and aftercare. As a full-service addiction treatment center, we aim to decrease the likelihood of relapse with mindfulness and holistic healing.
Contact SEE Purpose: Center for Addiction Treatment today to see if it is the right fit for your loved one.
