This is a series of podcasts recorded as a quick “Introduction to Al‑Anon Meetings.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
This is a series of podcasts recorded as a quick “Introduction to Al‑Anon Meetings.”
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I am 43-year-old wife of a 49-year-old alcoholic. We have only been together for 5 years and in that time I have worked to get him to at least slow down with drinking, so much, since at first I didnt know he had the problem. He has been drinking his whole life and I’m told before he met me he would drink a 30-pack of beer a day and sometimes add hard alcohol off and on but no one knew him not drunk or passing out from his drinking until he met me. We recently had a big blow out… Read more »
I am here because my partner has a drinking problem, no he has a disease. I am going to my first meeting Saturday and yes, I am very nervous and scared. He does not know I am going yet due to he is being out of town and due back the same day. He has been hiding his bottles all over the place including the garage, in between the sheets, you name it and it’s there. He has denied his problem for months but yet he will stop drinking for a week then slowly start drinking again lite stuff until… Read more »
Sometimes I think I’m being too dramatic and in reading some of the previous comments, I realize that my husband’s alcoholism could be worse, but it’s still taking a toll on me emotionally and I believe that I need to learn the difference between being supportive and trying to control the problem. My husband is in denial that he is an addict. He says that he’s an adult and he can make his own choices and that he doesn’t have to conform to what everyone else considers “normal”. He says he’s a big guy and can handle more alcohol that… Read more »
I am an alcoholic and am clean now but a short time ago I watched my only surviving brother, the eldest pass away. I fell off the wagon and my children have stopped communicating with me. This is more painful than anything. Has anyone been through this with their children?
Hi, my name is Regina. It was suggested to me by my friend, who is a member of Al-Anon and Alateen, to come and listen. So happy that you have made the podcast to help me see how this can benefit me. Thank you.
I have a 27-year-old daughter who is an alcoholic. Her father is also an alcoholic, but I divorced him before she was born, hoping she would be okay. She was so scared she would be like her father that she did not drink, smoke, or do drugs until last year. Her life fell apart. I found out her husband of seven years, and high school “sweetheart” was abusive to her. She fell for the married forever with the two kids and white picket fence story only to find out he was also an alcoholic and physically laid hands on her.… Read more »
My husband has been an alcoholic for years…many years. At first the excuse for excessive drinking was the stress from his job as a police officer, then it was stress caused by retirement, then it was stress from the adult kids, then bills, then the stressor was me, now it’s his back. There is always and excuse but the central focus is always his drinking. He lies, exaggerates, has alienated friends and family, he’s had one DUI where he hit someone with his vehicle, was arrested for assault, and I just found out he has not paid taxes for 7… Read more »
Wow. I believe I have landed in the right place. I am a 70-year old 2 time breast cancer survivor. I’ve just recently begun to feel a steep decline in my overall health, though I am cancer free. The reason I mention that is because I do believe that stress played a major part in my cancer diagnoses. I was married for 10 years to an alcoholic. We had two daughters before I divorced him. He was non-supportive and abusive. I did everything around the house, as well as work. I provided all the health care and paid the babysitter.… Read more »
I’ve always known my husband had some sort of drinking problem. He is in denial. My biggest concern is the fact he drinks while driving on his way home from work. I find bottles in his vehicle. This is not daily. I am most afraid he will cause an accident and hurt someone. I love him, he says he won’t get help. I’m lost.
My husband was angry when I said he was alcoholic. He has been one for as long as I have known him. He was actually shocked to hear it.
My 25 year old son has moved back in with me short term, 3 to 4 weeks until he goes through 3 to 4 weeks of counseling for alcohol, per he and his wife’s agreement. They haven’t lived in the same house at least 5 months of this year. A few weeks here, a couple of months there, etc. he doesn’t think I know what the counseling is for and “isn’t ready to talk yet”. He does go over every day to spend time with his children and wife. I’m having a hard time establishing and setting boundaries, using the… Read more »
My parents were both the children of Icelandic immigrants and both of their fathers were alcoholics. My grandfather committed suicide. My other alcoholic grandfather died at the age of 55. One uncle, a gifted doctor, died from an esophageal variceal hemorrhage after decades of alcohol abuse. One uncle, a gifted singer, drowned–drunk, in a swimming pool. One uncle, a cancer researcher, lost custody of his children because of the drinking (they were eventually sent to live with us, which caused many problems.) One aunty, a talented seamstress, quilter, artist, suffered severe agoraphobia, and ran out of a life changing interview with a… Read more »
wow
My now ex-husband has always chosen to spend time drinking at a bar. It was always a problem and I quit trying to change him a long time ago because he would get very defensive and abusive when I would bring it up. He even went through gallbladder surgery because of his addition to beer. There was and is no way to get him to admit he has any problem. His behaviors became so abusive that I am afraid for him to know where I am.
I want to change my reaction to my spouse’s drinking. I am full of anger for his choice everyday to drink and he keeps telling me he has cut back. I want to get out of this life.
Wow
I just don’t know what to do anymore. Our only son has been through rehab twice (refused sober living housing both times) in the last year and has relapsed again:( This time my husband said he has two months to find another place to live or will be evicted because he refuses to get treatment. The agreement when he came home four months ago was he would stay sober, continue treatment and find a part time job. He agreed to these things knowing if we found alcohol in the house he would have to leave. He does not work, has… Read more »
I attended my first virtual meeting last night. Last week, as I was reading in the blue book (can’t remember the exact name), my heart sank when I realized that it’s not only my husband, who is an alcoholic, that needs help, but our entire family. He’s enjoyed drinking since I met him and was always fun and happy when he drank. He was really big and he could put it away, as they say. I thought his body size enabled him to drink more. I don’t know all the reasons why he turned into a mean drunk; I think… Read more »
I’m posting here for the first time today as a newcomer to Al-Anon and the community here. I don’t really know where to start so I will just start with this, my partner of three years is an alcoholic and recently his drinking has grown to an unmanageable level, and we are currently not living together as a result. We have one child together, who is mine from a previous relationship, however she has only known my partner as her father. When I met him he was not drinking at all, as he was still completing a federal jail sentence,… Read more »
I am posting for the first time today. My 36 year old son is an alcoholic, but does not admit that. I am trying to learn how to control my own anxiety and reactions to his drinking. He holds down a job and has never needed money, but is (in my opinion) living a life surrounded by drinking. When I am with him, all I do is worry about him falling, getting hurt, making a fool of himself… I know I can’t control him, but I definitely need help controlling my responses to his behavior. To make things worse, all… Read more »