How to Help Your Husband with an Alcohol Addiction: What You Need to Know

Hired Power

An alcohol use disorder affects the family as well as the individual, and the challenge can seem insurmountable. Excessive drinking is a challenging subject to broach with your partner but could be a sign of alcohol use disorder (AUD). If you think your husband has an alcohol addiction, Hired Power is here to stand as a resource for both you and your husband as you navigate the empowering path towards recovery.

Hired Power is an addiction and mental health recovery service that provides personalized and compassionate support throughout the entire recovery process. Our comprehensive plans educate the entire family on AUD and provide support to everyone involved for a positive outcome.

Our certified experts have decades of experience in interventions, data-driven monitoring, case management, coaching, and recovery. Hired Power can help you and your husband with his alcohol addiction.

Signs Your Husband Has Alcohol Addiction

Substance use disorder affects close to half of all families each year, according to a Gallup poll. Signs of AUD can vary from person to person, which can make it difficult to identify. More than drinking excessively, your husband may have a substance use disorder if he has developed these signs.

While reading this list, check how many of these are affecting your families daily living. If your husband displays 3 or more of these, it may be time to reach out for professional support. Most importantly, remember, you do not have to label your husband an addict to ask for help.

Late to work, affects employment, or loses job
Inability to reduce or stop drinking regardless of commitments, promises or attempts
Missing important family events and activities such as school plays, sporting events, academic events, weddings, etc.
Failing to follow through on promises
Secretive behavior; Withholding information
Exercises poor judgment
Lacks inhibitions
Displays erratic and unpredictable mood swings, depression, or anxiety
Treats you disrespectfully; you feel you cannot trust him
Has impaired coordination, sexual function, and overall health
Shows withdrawal symptoms when he stops drinking or has not drank enough (i.e. sensitivity to light, shaky, sweaty, irritability, and confusion)
Exhibits suicidal thoughts or attempts or often speaks about feelings of hopelessness or helplessness
Irresponsible financial behavior

How to Help a Husband with Substance Use Disorder

Helping a husband with alcohol addiction can raise many emotions, so it is imperative to come from a place of love and empathy, and carefully consider when and how to discuss the topic. Research shows that verbal aggression is two times more likely to occur when a spouse has consumed alcohol in the last two hours. Consider these do’s and don’ts when talking to your husband about alcohol addiction.

Do:

Express options for getting help and your support in the situation
Be honest about how the alcohol use disorder affects you and your family
Explain the consequences of drinking
Get help for yourself from support groups or begin therapy
Set clear boundaries
Educate yourself on addiction and recovery
Know when to leave if the situation has become dangerous to you or your family
Adhere to a routine and sense of normalcy

Don’t:

Make threats
Start conversations about drinking while he is drunk or hungover
Allow him to avoid duties or pick up his responsibilities
Focus on trying to control his drinking
Enable him or make excuses for him
Give up on him or his recovery; it can be a slow and draining process

Thinking About How to Leave a Husband with Alcohol Addiction? There’s Hope.

There is hope for individuals with alcohol use disorder and family members of a loved one with alcohol addiction. There are times it is necessary to leave a husband with alcohol addiction, and it should be done so quickly if safety is in question. In other cases, recovery resources are available for families and husbands to treat the condition.

It’s important to remember you are not alone. The first step to recovery is often finding help from a trained interventionist like the ones at Hired Power. We can help you begin the healing journey through an empowering process that supports everyone involved.

Steps to Help a Spouse Struggling with Substance Use Disorder

While the decision to stop drinking belongs to your spouse, there are steps you can take to encourage him to move in a positive direction.

intervention for an alcoholic husband

Stop Enabling Behaviors

It is difficult to watch your spouse struggle, which can lead to participating in enabling behaviors without even realizing it. Enabling behaviors are those that allow your spouse to avoid the consequences of his alcohol use disorder, such as calling in sick at his work for him when he is drunk or giving him money to buy alcohol. While you may be trying to protect the man you love, these behaviors can extend the alcohol use until it becomes more dangerous.

Keep Your Focus

While you are limited in how much help you can offer your spouse, you can give yourself and others in your home the support and care necessary to maintain your mental and physical health. Stick to a regular routine as much as possible and take the time you and others in your household might need to rest and heal.

Seek Outside Support

There are support groups for family members of loved ones struggling with alcohol addiction, such as Al-Anon, local organizations, or individual therapy. These safe havens allow you to discuss the effect of your spouse’s alcohol use disorder on the rest of the family with others who are experiencing similar challenges.

Consider an Intervention

An intervention is an empowering, professionally guided conversation that begins the healing process for everyone involved. This process includes designated family members and friends who are committed to supporting their loved one as they begin the healing process from alcohol addiction. A professional interventionist can oversee the process to ensure it is safe, supportive, and effective.

Let Hired Power Help You Plan an Effective Intervention

Here at Hired Power, we believe that an intervention is a process, not an event. Early diagnosis and treatment are critical to successfully managing life-threatening conditions like alcohol use disorder. Our team of board-registered intervention professionals and certified alcohol and drug counselors can help plan and guide your intervention by assessing your unique situation.