Excessive and Abusive Drinking, an Enabling Spouse, and Encouragement for Productive Change and Successful Alcohol Dependency Rehabilitation
It took many years but Emily finally made up her mind that she had it with her husband’s careless and hazardous drinking. She was tired of seeing Barry come home after 2:00 AM from drinking rather than spending time with her and the children. She was also worn-out from the second DUI Barry recently got. Furthermore she was weary from generating explanations for her husband when he couldn’t make it to work due to his problems with drinking. Not only this but she was nervous about the fact that their relationship was deteriorating due to Barry’s hazardous drinking. And lastly she was worn-out from the unstable financial dilemma into which he had put his family due to his excessive and careless drinking behavior.
When Irresponsible Drinking Motivates a Person to do Something Constructive About a Person’s Drinking Problem
One Tuesday afternoon when Emily was pondering what she could do about her husband’s unhealthy drinking, she got to the point that she simply had to do something constructive to cut into the negative cycle of Barry’s abusive and excessive drinking behavior.
So she looked on the Internet under “alcohol treatment” and discovered numerous rehab facilities that were all located less than 20 miles away from where she and Barry lived.
Since she didn’t know too much about these rehab centers, she finally determined that she needed to call some of them and ask some pertinent questions. When she called each rehab center she identified who she was and articulated that Barry, her spouse, was engaging in negative drinking behavior. She also articulated that her spouse had a comprehensive health insurance program at his place of employment and that outpatient or inpatient alcohol addiction rehabilitation would be covered if a health care practitioner in the company health program suggested the treatment.
At one rehabilitation facility, Emily was pleasantly surprised that she was able to converse directly with a physician who asked her to come to the rehab center to talk about her husband’s abusive and excessive drinking behavior in much greater detail.
Emily Talks to a Counselor About Her Husband’s Excessive Drinking
When Emily got to the rehab clinic, she filled out some required paperwork and then after about ten or fifteen minutes got to see a healthcare practitioner.
After listening to Emily go over her husband’s abusive and excessive drinking, the doctor in a supportive but firm way told Emily how she may have played a major role in her spouse’s abusive and hazardous drinking through the years by justifying his behavior rather than allowing him to go through the results of his hazardous and abusive drinking behavior.
Emily Discovers She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Irresponsible and Abusive Drinking
In a word, the therapist stated to Emily that she may have been unintentionally enabling Barry’s abusive and careless drinking behavior. The psychologist also underscored the fact that although Emily would not be able to control her husband’s actions, with the guidance and encouragement of the treatment team at the treatment center she would not only be able to learn how to refrain from contributing to Barry’s hazardous and excessive drinking but she would also be able to learn how to encourage him to make an appointment at the rehabilitation facility so that he could talk about his careless and abusive drinking behavior with a healthcare professional.
Fortunately after Emily discussed this with Barry, and he saw that she meant business, Barry told her that he had been very nervous regarding his unhealthy and abusive drinking behavior and that he was very comforted to realize that Emily wanted to do something beneficial about his abusive and hazardous drinking behavior. As a result, he scheduled an appointment to see a physician at the local alcohol treatment facility.
Barry Agrees to Meet With a Healthcare Professional About His Excessive and Abusive Drinking
While simply calling a rehab facility does not guarantee that a person’s unhealthy and abusive drinking behavior will stop or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one displays will simply disappear, scheduling an appointment is clearly a crucial factor in the rehabilitation process. And since Barry was serious about getting therapy for his excessive and unhealthy drinking, the likelihood of a successful recovery was significantly increased.