Living with an Alcoholic: What to Know and How to Cope

Most of us realize that alcohol is heavily woven into modern culture, but going alcohol-free is going to increase your awareness of the direct and indirect social pressures to drink. You’ll start noticing how many alcohol references you see throughout your day, and it will probably be annoying at times. You’ll also notice just how differently alcohol is treated than other mind-altering drugs, like how it’s the only drug that you have to explain why you don’t use it. If you’re a woman of child-bearing age, expect people to ask (or wonder) if pregnancy is the reason you’re not drinking. You may be surprised to learn that alcohol is one of the only substances with the potential for life-threatening withdrawal. And many people also don’t realize that you can experience withdrawal symptoms even if you were only drinking a couple of drinks a day, or not even every day.

Many 12-step programs suggest that sobriety means total abstinence—never using the substance ever again. If these symptoms are not treated in time, they can also lead to a person’s death. The vanity argument for stopping drinking motivates a lot of people and it should do. I get my students to take a picture at the beginning of their 6 week course and another at the end. “While for some people these structural changes are not reversible, most people are able to show less shrinkage in one to three months with alcohol abstinence,” says Volpicelli.

Higher Quality of Life

But once you are free from your addiction, all that energy can be channeled into positive directions. You’ll learn how to listen to your heart’s desires and how to break down big dreams and goals into smaller, manageable steps. By taking things one day at a time, day after day, you can suddenly accomplish more than you ever thought was possible. When you’re not chasing your addiction, you can follow your dreams. Addiction uses up an enormous amount of physical and emotional energy. There’s little left for pursuing big dreams like finishing school, starting a business, or embarking on a career.

• But if someone needs rehabilitation, make sure to get the help from Lantana Recovery they need at the right time to save them from having long-term side effects.
• In the end, the people who mattered supported my sobriety, and I’m now able to enjoy more authentic time with them.
• In addition to being able to recognize them, it’s important to know when to seek help.
• Respecting the individual’s boundaries and choices concerning substances while staying informed about potential relapses or triggers establishes a trusting and supportive relationship.
• Getting through the challenges of becoming sober has given me the confidence to handle anything that comes my way.

Fermented alcoholic beverages, such as beer and wine, contain polyphenols such as resveratrol. It’s also important to ask your loved one directly what you can do to help, especially during special events where alcohol may be served. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age.

Your mood will improve

You can help by offering unconditional support, including abstaining from drinking yourself. Not only does alcohol addiction, or alcohol use disorder (AUD), affect those who have it, but it can also benefits of living an alcohol and drug free lifestyle have significant effects on their interpersonal relationships and households. Initially, it tends to calm you, but eventually it leads to hangovers, mood swings, exhaustion and depression.

When you stop drinking, it can also reverse the negative effects alcohol has had on your cognitive functions like problem-solving, memory, and attention. “Quitting drinking can improve a person’s sleep, but there may still be a significant number of people who continue to have sleep problems even with continuous abstinence,” Volpicelli says. “These improvements can be observed not only in people who abstain from alcohol but in people who reduce heavy drinking,” Volpicelli says. Quitting alcohol won’t just protect your physical health—it can also improve your mental well-being. Alcohol makes it harder for your body’s immune system to make enough white blood cells to fight off germs and bacteria. People who have been drinking a lot of alcohol for a long time tend to get frequent infections like pneumonia and tuberculosis because their immune system has been worn down.