My husband and I have been together going on 6 years, married 1.5. My husband recently told me that he feels he is developing a drinking proplem. While he doesn't get drunk every day, he does still have a drink everyday and his is getting very drunk more frequently. He has always been someone to have a drink to unwind but it has crept up to "needing" to have a drink everyday over the last 6 months. I am extremely proud of him for being able to verabilse it, even though I have had a feeling about the situation in the weeks leading up to the discussion it's nice that he recognises it too.
He is never domestically violent when he drinks, but he does get really emotional. He has a lot of trauma from his childhood he doesn't like to talk about and he just ends up crying or isolating himself in the shed.
Is there services I can contact for support for him and myself? What are the options? He has asked me to support him but I don't even know where to start, what information to provide him? Should we go to a gp together? We are located in Victoria if that makes a difference. We are both really wanting help before the situation gets worse.
Husband has admitted drinking problem
Husband has admitted drinking problem
Posted in:
Relationships & Marriage, Mental Health, Self Care, Men's Business
3 Replies
Speak to AA in your area. They will recommend he starts coming to meetings but if he's not ready yet they will have advice on where to start. I'm hoping for a happy ending, despite the hurdle you guys seem to be on the same page so time will tell if he's got it in him to reach out for help.
It might help him to understand that although it's hard to talk about what happened back then, and that he doesn't need to talk about it with you if that's his preference, if he finds a great pysch that he really clicks with - after the shit feeling of dragging it all up and out he'll come out with the tools to cope in better ways. Kind of like cleaning out an old mouldy box of stuff that makes you sick to look at or be near, you take them out, clean them up and sort them into compartmentalised shiny new tubs. They never go away but the difference between them is a festering internal wound to a sadness and disappointment that it was what it was, and learning to cope with (and if necessary adjust to) how that has effected him as a person, a partner and as a parent.
His GP is a great start. He can be referred to a psychologist.
He needs to get medical advice. Don’t let him stop cold turkey without speaking to a medical professional it can be extremely dangerous. Going cold turkey can cause seizures etc.
AA can be helpful but isn’t the only solution. You could find Al-anon helpful for yourself.
Go to your GP and ask for a referral to get some professional help. Your GP will know best way to help and refer. He needs to see a psychologist for his issues growing up, this will help him tremendously. It’s very important he gets this psychological help to help with the underlying issues. It’s so nice that he can speak freely with you and is open to you, make sure you keep that and keep him opening up to you and support him. Best of luck