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Alcohol support

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My partner is an alcoholic

22 replies

oldsoulrebel · 23/10/2021 13:22

Been with my dbf for 2 years . I always knew he liked a drink and when we first were together it seemed normal to meet in pubs and have a few drinks together . We don't live together, I usually stay at his 3-4 nights a week .
In the time we have been together I have noticed his drinking is getting so much worse.
If I go round to his it is normal that he will already be well on his way to getting totally smashed and continues to drink until he either passes out or becomes argumentative .
I'm not blameless . I have on occasion tried to drink with him ( I like a couple of glasses of wine ) and sometimes I will drink more than I intend to mostly to stop him from drinking it all. We have got into a bad cycle and as his drinking has increased so has my tolerance to his drink problem .
He is in denial he has a problem , lies about the amount he has had to drink and seems to believe he is just having a good time . He doesn't have a good time . He can easily drink 2-3 bottles of wine with no food and gets way past the point of being able to have a conversation and our sex life is non-existent. Despite all this he is an amazing man , everything I want . I know I will get lots of LTB , and I have tried , over the last 3 months we have separated on 3 occasions but I can't seem to give up on him . I have been reading lots about how I deal with his alcoholism and recently attended an al-anon meeting .
I am working on me and coping better than I was . I want to be there for him and when he is sober he will promise me he will change . But he always let's me down . I dread going to see him as I dread what I will find when I go round. I have changed my behaviour (can't change his) and make sure that I am able to drive home when he gets into the state where he becomes argumentative ( he's never nasty or abusive , just wants to argue about anything) . All the stuff I have read advises to not nag or mention the drinking, but that's the part I find so hard . I am due to go over this afternoon , we have plans that don't involve drinking for this evening . I haven't heard from him yet although he should have been home from work by now . The way it usually goes is I will go round , he will be asleep (drunk) , will deny drinking despite the evidence , I loose my shit , storm off , don't speak for days . Then he apologises , I weaken and the cycle continues . I need to do it differently and am going to try today to just leave him to it of he is drunk when I arrive and enjoy a night out without him . Its the not getting angry with him i find so difficult. Sorry this is much longer than I intended , and I don't even know what I'm hoping to hear , but feel better for getting it down .

OP posts:
WindowsSmindows · 23/10/2021 13:29

I don't know what to say to you.
Do you have children? Do you want children?

oldsoulrebel · 23/10/2021 13:36

I have older teens , so they are unaffected by his drink problem . We are both in our fifties and from speaking to his family member it would seem this is not a new problem .

OP posts:
stalkersaga · 23/10/2021 13:38

What is it that's keeping you in this relationship at this point? When you separated from him, why did you go back?

dunroamingfornow · 23/10/2021 13:39

Don't want to say too much as potentially outing but I have some experience of this in the family. It won't get better, probably will get worse and you're only 2 years in. If you've been to Al anon you know you can't change this. If you were my sister or friend I would be wanting to support you but worried that you might stay in a situation that will cause you a lot of pain. Choose you and accept this is who he is. Is this what you want for ever ?

coodawoodashooda · 23/10/2021 13:41

What you are saying is that he's drowning. You've reached out to pull him into the shore and instead of coming towards you he's going to make you drown with him.

ApolloandDaphne · 23/10/2021 13:43

You can't make him change so you need to leave him for your own health and sanity. No matter how lovely he is he is always going to put alcohol before you,

oldsoulrebel · 23/10/2021 13:45

I don't know why I still go back if I'm honest . I know he probably won't get better and I absolutely don't want this for the future . I love him obviously , and I know he is so much more than his drink problem . Of course what I want more than anything is for him to get help and get sober , I also know this is unlikely . If I'm honest I think I went back because I just didn't feel able to give up on the relationship. I think I just need to find the strength to walk away but I'm not there yet . I just need to make sure that in the meantime I don't lose myself . I'm already not the person I was .

OP posts:
oldsoulrebel · 23/10/2021 13:47

When I went to al-anon I felt like a fraud. People were there with long term marriages , children etc , I get why they stay . We have no ties . It should be easy for me to walk away . But it isn't and I'm usually not this weak .

OP posts:
oldsoulrebel · 23/10/2021 13:48

@coodawoodashooda

What you are saying is that he's drowning. You've reached out to pull him into the shore and instead of coming towards you he's going to make you drown with him.
That's exactly how I feel . Thank you
OP posts:
siucra · 23/10/2021 13:53

I think you have to leave today. For you. Please don't waste any more time on this relationship. I am sure you will unutterably sad about what is happening to him, but you have to let him go. He's the only one who can save himself. Best of luck.

coodawoodashooda · 23/10/2021 14:43

If you look Jordan Peterson up on YouTube he speaks very clearly about how you shouldn't help someone who has told you they don't want your help. I had a similar but different carry on with my xh. It's very hard op. Im sorry.

AliceinBorderland · 23/10/2021 14:45

How can he be everything you want if he is drinking to the extent he is paralytic and you can't even have sex? !

coodawoodashooda · 23/10/2021 14:53

Your children need for you to not choose drowning.

DriftingPlateTectonic · 23/10/2021 17:52

What exactly makes him amazing? No shade but everything you've written makes him look like he's not willing to help himself so with all the will in the world, you won't be able to help him either.

MissConductUS · 23/10/2021 18:00

Tell him if he gets real help stopping, you'll support him and if doesn't you have to move on. Then follow through.

ReiltinDubh · 23/10/2021 18:09

Please leave. Its no life. He won't stop till he hits rock bottom and who knows what damage will have been done to you on his journey there. You'll be worse off, believe me.

pointythings · 26/10/2021 16:32

Please go back to al-Anon - you are not a fraud, you are affected by the addiction of someone you love and you have every right to be there. It will help you to learn to draw the line between supporting and enabling, and it will teach you what co-dependency is and how to pull yourself out of it. It's about learning to detach with love and put your own wellbeing first. Right now you're drowning in his alcohol problem and that helps no-one.

I agree it isn't as simple as LTB - it took me almost 7 years to come to the conclusion that there was no future for me and my husband and even with all the support I accessed it still didn't end well. But ultimately, unless the alcoholic experiences the consequences of indulging their addiction, there's no incentive for change. Many addicts never find recovery - be prepared for that. But if you stay as you are, your DP certainly won't.

Rachdar · 31/10/2021 08:06

You are in the same situation as me reading this i felt that I had wrote it. Is so hard knowing what to do. We need to become friends to support each other in 48 my partner is 56

oldsoulrebel · 31/10/2021 18:49

@Rachdar

You are in the same situation as me reading this i felt that I had wrote it. Is so hard knowing what to do. We need to become friends to support each other in 48 my partner is 56
Not easy is it . Always happy to chat and my advice is probably much better than what I do x
OP posts:
oldsoulrebel · 31/10/2021 18:52

Thank you to everyone for the advice . It was much as I expected , I'm hanging on in there at the moment and he is drinking a lot less (at least when I'm around ) I'm under no illusion though that he will get better until he can admit a problem . I'm just not ready to walk away yet .

OP posts:
FanGirlX · 14/11/2021 17:15

Sorry OP. I've split up with ex DP because of his drinking and unreliability (also lack of sex). It culminated in the police removing him from outside our house about 2 months ago. I know that last week alone he has been blind drunk at least 3 times based on messages I have received.

I've found al Anon and SMART zoom meetings to be helpful but I'm still struggling to forget the kind, caring, funny man he could be when sober.

Andante57 · 14/11/2021 17:17

As pp have said, please go back to Al Anon - you aren’t a fraud going to meetings.
You will find so much help and support there.

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