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Alcoholism Deep Talk Family Mental Health

How Alcoholism Affects Family Members

Today’s post is not going to be well-edited or put together in a nice pretty package. It will be totally raw because today I am talking about the ugliness of alcoholism. My family is in the thick of it right now. This week has been hell for me and my extended family. We have someone we all love dearly, who has had years of sobriety under his belt, who just started drinking again. And by drinking I mean going on a bender. This is when an alcoholic will drink, pass out, wake up, and drink some more. Over and over and over.

As I write this post, mentally exhausted from the emotions of the week, none of us know if he is alive or dead. The last any of us have heard from him was about 24 hours ago. He is locked up in a hotel drinking somewhere. He won’t share his location with any of us and he won’t go for help. This has been going on for days. It is absolute torture because you constantly wonder if today will be the day he will die. This isn’t being melodramatic either. Our family knows that this happens often because it has already happened to us twice.

Two of my closest cousins died from alcoholism, one in 2014 and one in 2019. Both were terribly painful experiences in both their life and death. Watching someone you love, who you grew up with as kids, slowly lose themselves to alcohol is heart-wrenching. At first, it is the “Does he have a problem?” The wondering—no one is really saying. Then there is the covering up and the excuses for the drinking. Eventually, though, alcoholism always rears its ugly head and the confirmation arrives that yes there is a problem and yes, he is out of control. So what are the healthy loved-ones surrounding that person to do? They attempt to get him help.

That is where the convincing, coaxing, chasing, begging, pleading, yelling, crying, arguing, babysitting, waiting, planning, calling, hoping, wishing, and praying come in. The alcoholic takes over everyone’s lives. The fear of losing that person is so high that you will do almost anything to get them to listen to you. The big problem is that most of the time they don’t. The disease of alcoholism has such a hold on the person. It is literally all they can think about. Nothing else matters at that point. You think that reminding them of their kids, or parents, or spouse will make them want to stop. The ugly truth of that is that most of the time it isn’t enough to make them stop.

Sometimes they agree to go to detox/rehab, and sometimes they stay, but more likely they check themselves out the next morning, the next week, and then the bender starts all over again. It is a vicious cycle. The breath you had caught when you left them at detox gets sucked right back out of you and once again you feel gutted. There is no better word to describe it. Gutted. Because it feels like there is nothing you can do except wait for them to slowly kill themselves.

So that is where we are this week. We feel sad, tortured, gutted, angry, afraid, and worried. All the emotions might not be there at once but they are all there, they just move in and out of you at their choosing, and you just have to learn to deal with it all. Maybe you and your family have been through this and if so, I am sorry and I so understand the pain of it.

One thing we can be thankful for is that our family is all on the same page. We will be loving to him when he reaches out and we will also continue to encourage detox/rehab. One thing we will not do is enable him any longer. If he chooses to sit in a hotel and drink then he chooses that, but we will not make his life easy for him while he does it. Believe me, it is such a hard thing to do, but we believe it is our only hope of him coming out of this alive.

So for those of you who read my blogs regularly and are of the praying type, I ask you to pray for our family this week. We ask for prayers of strength for all of us and that our loved one finally accepts the help he needs. We also ask that he would come to know Christ and feel God’s tender mercies on him. We thank you so very much for the prayers.

XO- Kerry  


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Comments

  1. Linda says

    December 4, 2020 at 6:19 pm

    It is so very hard to love someone enough to not enable a person who is actually putting their life at risk. It has an appropriate name. Tough love. Reading your story I could feel the pain you are suffering. I’m so sorry. I pray that this time, your family can have a happy ending..

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      February 5, 2021 at 2:41 pm

      Hi Aunt Linda, I just wanted to thank you for the prayers for our relative who was struggling. He is doing so much better! I hope you are getting better each and every day as well.

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    December 4, 2020 at 3:48 pm

    Kerry, I feel so sad reading this and I am so sorry for your pain. Even though we also have a story of alcoholism in our family (albeit a “happy ending”), the brokenness each of us feels is unique and real. Thank you for sharing your family’s brokenness with us. I will definitely be praying for him and for you and for all those whose life is impacted by his addiction.

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      February 5, 2021 at 2:39 pm

      Thank you Michelle for the prayers and support! I am blessed to have you in my life.

      Reply
  3. Cheryl says

    December 4, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Many prayers. Hugs

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      February 5, 2021 at 2:38 pm

      Thanks Cheryl for the prayers! Our relative is doing great. Obviously sobriety is hard but he feels he got a lot of grat tools at rehab!

      Reply
  4. Andrea McC says

    December 4, 2020 at 12:20 pm

    What a heart-wrenching post! I am so sorry you all have to go through this! I will keep you and your family in my prayers and send healing love and light to the individual suffering from addiction. May God surround him and heal him, may he uplift him and shows him how much he is loved and valued. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      February 5, 2021 at 2:34 pm

      Hi Andrea, Thank you for your prayers! I am happy to say our family member made it through a 30-day rehab program that he found valuable and is doing well. Your prayers really helped!

      Reply
  5. Anne says

    December 4, 2020 at 10:27 am

    Praying for you guys! ❤️

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      December 4, 2020 at 11:02 am

      Thank you Anne! We appreciate the prayers!

      Reply
    • Kerry says

      February 5, 2021 at 2:35 pm

      Thank you Anne for your prayers! They really helped. Our family member is doing really well and has been sober for over a month now. Praise God!

      Reply
  6. Wendy says

    December 4, 2020 at 9:49 am

    Saying many prayers for you and your family. I’m so sorry you have to go through this again.

    Reply
    • Kerry says

      December 4, 2020 at 11:02 am

      Thank you so much Wendy! XO!

      Reply

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