What Effect Does Alcoholism Have on a Family

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What effect does alcoholism have on an alcoholic’s family? What are some resources for families dealing with alcoholism? Alcoholism affects every family differently. Depending on the who, what, where, when, and why of it all. This is a very touchy topic for me. I have seen it, and grew up with it. Fortunately, it wasn’t my parents. It was my sister. She destroyed a very large part of each of our family members. We all carry immense anger for her. For my parents it was horrible. She started drinking when she was 13. They tried everything to control her. They blamed themselves, even though neither one of them drink. Our house was in misery for days whenever she drank. For me it was horrible. I was ten years younger. I got dragged to the bars at 11 and had to be the one to keep her out of trouble. My job was the alibi. For our older sister it was worse. She got beat up every time she drank. For her husband it was terrible. He had to worry about the kids every time he left the house. He feared for the safety of his children. For her kids it was the worst. They were mentally abused and abandoned. Their mother chose booze over them. For her future grandchildren it is the best… They will never know her, by choice of her children. There are many resources for families dealing with alcoholism, some are: Treatment centers and hospitals AA – this is a support group for the alcoholic Al-Anon – This is a support group for the family members Places of worship provide counseling Doctors provide guidance and medication Private and group counseling Internet chat help Unlimited information on the Internet, in book and flyers, audio tapes and videos My family has been there and done them all. It has been 43 years. Just remember it is not in your fault and you have no control over

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