Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking, an Enabling Wife, and Motivation for Productive Change and Successful Alcohol Counseling

It took several years but Emily eventually made up her mind that she had enough with her husband’s hazardous and excessive drinking. She was worn-out from seeing Barry come home in the early hours of the morning from drinking rather than spending time with her and their two sons. She was also weary from the third DUI Barry recently got. Moreover she was exhausted from making justifications for her husband when he couldn’t make it to work due to his problems with drinking. Not only this but she was worried about the fact that their relationship was going downhill due to Barry’s excessive and hazardous drinking. And finally she was sick of the perilous financial dilemma into which he had placed his family because of his abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior.

When Careless and Abusive Drinking Inspires a Person to do Something Positive About a Person’s Drinking Problem

One Sunday afternoon when Emily was reflecting on what she could do about her husband’s unhealthy and excessive drinking, she got to the point that she honestly had to do something constructive to cut into the negative cycle of Barry’s hazardous and careless drinking behavior.

So she looked on the Internet under “alcohol treatment” and found quite a few treatment centers that were all located less than fifty miles away from where she and Barry lived.

Because she didn’t know a great deal about these treatment facilities, she eventually decided that she needed to call some of them and ask some important questions. When she called each rehabilitation facility she introduced herself and said that her spouse was involved in unhealthy and excessive drinking behavior. She also said that her husband had a top quality health insurance program at work and that outpatient or residential alcohol rehab would be covered if a health care practitioner in the company health program called for the rehab.

At one treatment clinic, Emily was surprised that she was able to communicate directly with a physician who suggested that she come to the rehabilitation clinic to discuss her husband’s hazardous drinking behavior in greater detail.

Emily Talks to a Counselor About Her Husband’s Hazardous and Excessive Drinking

When Emily arrived at the rehabilitation facility, she filled out some required paperwork and then after around ten or fifteen minutes got to see a healthcare professional.

After listening to Emily talk about her husband’s excessive and unhealthy drinking, the healthcare professional in an accommodating but firm way explained to Emily how she probably played a part in her spouse’s abusive and hazardous drinking through the months and the years by justifying his behavior rather than allowing him to go through the outcomes of his excessive and hazardous drinking behavior.

Emily Finds Out She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Irresponsible and Hazardous Drinking

Stated more forcefully, the doctor told Emily that she may have been unintentionally enabling Barry’s excessive and hazardous drinking behavior. The healthcare professional also underscored the fact that although Emily could not control her spouse’s actions, with the support and encouragement of the treatment team at the rehabilitation facility she would not only be able to learn how to refrain from contributing to Barry’s unhealthy and abusive drinking but she could also learn how to encourage him to make an appointment at the rehabilitation center so that he could go over his abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior with a psychologist.

Fortunately after Emily mentioned this to her husband, and he saw that she was not joking, Barry told her that he had been extremely worried about his hazardous drinking behavior and that he was quite comforted to learn that Emily wanted to do something productive about his careless and excessive drinking behavior. As a consequence, he scheduled an appointment to see a therapist at the local alcohol rehab clinic.

Barry Agrees to See a Psychologist About His Abusive and Excessive Drinking

While simply calling a rehab facility does not ensure that an individual’s hazardous and careless drinking behavior will become less problematic or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one exhibits will simply vanish, scheduling an appointment is evidently a much needed step in the rehabilitation process. And due to the fact that Barry was serious about getting treatment for his abusive drinking, the probability for a successful recovery was substantially enhanced.