This could be in a one-on-one conversation or an intervention with others who are concerned about the person. Without confrontation, it’s unfair to expect a person to change. https://ecosoberhouse.com/ If you never tell them how their actions affect you, they will likely never know. A spouse can confront the addicted person through a personal conversation or intervention.

• Today, healthcare professionals would say that a person has an alcohol use disorder (AUD).
• Quality addiction treatment centers can help you and your loved one overcome your struggles and break free of alcoholism for good.

“For starters, the media, our workplaces, and many social circles normalize drinking to excess,” says Ruby Mehta, a clinical social worker and director of clinical operations at Tempest. What might look like denial may actually be a lot more complicated and multilayered for people with high-functioning AUD. If your husband is not interested in alcohol rehab, then you have to decide what steps you are willing to take to keep yourself happy and healthy.

Is Your Husband an Alcoholic?

It can be hard to determine if your husband is struggling with alcohol use disorder. An intervention is a process that involves a physician, an addiction counselor, or an intervention specialist meeting with loved ones. During the intervention, encourage your spouse to seek treatment by confronting him about his alcohol addiction and how it affects you. These groups give people affected by someone else’s alcoholism a safe environment to talk about the impact that the person has on their life. Group members include peers who provide comfort and advice to one another.

People who are functional, or high functioning, alcoholics try hard to hide their disordered drinking from family members, colleagues, and friends. Even if someone might approach them asking if there is a problem, they will likely deny it. Denial protects themselves from the stigma of alcoholism, or from appearing weak and not in control. Alcoholism is a disease that slowly develops over time, not all at once. While everyone may experience this progression differently, there are four common stages people go through when becoming a functional alcoholic. The present descriptive study aimed to investigate the problems faced and coping strategies used by the wives of alcoholics.

Ways to Approach the High-Functioning Alcoholic in Your Life

Many people who struggle with alcoholism are reluctant to accept treatment on their own. This is why it is important for you to encourage him to seek professional help for alcohol addiction treatment if he seems hesitant to do so. When one starts living functional alcoholic husband with a functioning alcoholic husband, they try to take control of situations, as mentioned above, and behave as a counselor. New research using the updated diagnostic criteria could conceivably generate an entirely different classification scheme.