What can you do if you have an alcoholic parent?

Dealing with an alcoholic parent

Alcoholic parents suck.  They don’t wake up on time.  They sometimes don’t dress or wash or cook for themselves.  But, the worst thing about an alcoholic parent is that they are sad or angry almost all of the time.

What is alcoholism?

Alcoholism is a disease. It starts out when your mom or dad drinks alcohol.  Soon,  s/he wtarts drinking more and more and cannot stop.  This is because something is happening in their brains and to their bodies which makes it really hard to stop.

How do you know if your mom or dad is an alcoholic?

Some people might drink a lot but can can control their drinking.  Or some people will drink a lot on holidays or at weddings, or only on the weekends.  So how do you know if your parent is an alcoholic or has a beginning problem with alcohol? Here are the 4 signs of alcoholism.

1. Alcoholics need to drink more and more alcohol after time (tolerance) to feel the same as when they started.
2. Alcoholics start to sweat, have an upset stomach, get shaky or anxious if they stop drinking.
3. Alcoholics think about (have an obsession) with alcohol ALOT and have strong cravings to drink.
4. Once an alcoholic drinks one drink, they cannot stop drinking more.

What can you do if you have an alcoholic parent?

First, you have to know that you are not alone.  According to a recent Nick News program on alcoholism, 11 million kids under the age of 18 live with one or more parent is an alcoholic.  That means that one of every 4 kids has an alcoholic in the family.  It’s so common that there is nothing to be ashamed of…and IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT!

So what can you do?

1. Know that it’s not your fault
2. Know you can’t fix it
3. Find the strength inside yourself to go on a different way

The hardest part of having an alcoholic is having to grow up so fast.  It’s like you’re the adult and your parent is the kid.  But that’s what you have to do.  You have to learn to know what you can and cannot control and then only change the things that you can control.  It sucks.  It really does.  But you cannot change your parents, and you need to take care of yourself.  Here are some other ideas for things to try out

• Tell someone you trust what is happening and ask for advice
• Plan an intervention and ask your mom or dad to go to rehab
• Go to Al Anon meetings
• Talk to someone at school, church, in your family, or a friend about how you feel
• Join online groups like intherooms [dot] com and chat about life

Share your ideas

Is your mom or dad an alcoholic?  What questions do you have?  What do you do to feel good and take care of them?  How are you dealing with life?

Reference Source: http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/familyhistory/famhist.htm

About the author

Lee Weber

Lee Weber is a published author, medical writer, and woman in long-term recovery from addiction. Her latest book, The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions is set to reach university bookstores in early 2019.