Alcoholism is a well known health hazard. The alcohol addiction effects shows on health, their social status, finance and mental health too. But along with these it also affects the abuser’s family. Man is a social being and is always connected to others; the closet among all is family. Hence the family is bound to get an influence from this hazardous habit. When under the influence of alcohol the individual tends to ignore or are unable to fulfill their responsibility towards their family and work, here is where the problem starts escalating.
How Alcohol addiction effects on Family
Alcohol addiction effects can impact the family in various ways:
- Relationships: It can be any relationship; marital, parent-child, siblings or romantic partners. With the increase consumption the individual may get too attached to the habit that they may get offended if any one tries to point it out. Also they may end up spending a lot of time in the habit and lesser time with their loved one. All these would eventually affect the quality of their relationship with others.
- Domestic violence: In many places alcoholism and domestic violence go hand in hand. There are no research studies that show alcoholism causing domestic violence but it could be a possibility. When under the influence of alcohol individual could become highly susceptible and tend to make poor judgments, so there could be a possibility of the influenced individual to get into violent acts. However, though there are none studies that prove this but there are ones that show that individual involved in domestic violence were under the influence of alcohol.
- Children: If the parents or elders around the family is an alcoholic; the children around may get affected in ways that are easily overlooked. It is known that children learn from observation, if the alcoholic behavior is accepted (no one protesting against it) the child may learn it and assume that such behavior is ‘okay’. If there is physical abuse with alcoholism, the child may also pick that up; which is worse. If any of the parent is alcoholic and on their way of ignoring their responsibilities may also ignore the child’s both physical and emotional needs. As a result the child feels neglected and would lack the emotional support that is needed from the parents.There are also children who take up the household responsibilities since the parents are not capable enough; this is usually seen among the eldest children of the family. Some may also blames themselves for the problem. In some cases children who are exposed to this addictive habit from a young age tend to end up getting involved in alcoholism later in life.
- Social: Alcoholism also tends to affect the individual’s social status. Due to the addictive habit, as it is known, the individual may end up ignoring their responsibilities. As a result their performance may reduce, affecting their reputation at workplace. There are also possibilities of the individual getting involved in criminal acts such as stealing or fraud in order to fulfil their addiction. These all put not only the individual but also the family member’s social status jeopardy.
Alcohol Addiction Treatment
Family members who are, often, the first to realize alcoholism as a problem tend to try fixing things in the first go with all their efforts. Some do succeed but others don’t, why? Because these individual are equally affected by the addictive behaviour but fail to see the need to address their issues before trying to save others.
If you know someone in this position or you yourself are in this position; it is better to seek professional help before you help someone else. Call us for help +919611194949 or visit Cadabam’s Anunitha.