It can be challenging to wonder what the signs of alcoholism are in a spouse. You may have noticed some changes, experienced some negativity, and developed your own personal feelings about your loved ones drinking habits that color how you feel and address their substance use. If you are questioning if your spouse has a drinking problem, it is best to learn the signs and speak with a trained clinician about how to address this with them in a safe, supportive, and calm manner.
At Relevance Recovery, our top-rated rehab in Monmouth County, offers several supportive measures for individuals attempting to support their loved ones through the early stages of addiction. In addition, intervention support and other specialized programs are available to help find their unique pathway to successful recovery and long-term sobriety.
Learn more about the signs of alcoholism in your spouse by speaking with a treatment coordinator today.
What Are the Signs of Alcoholism?
There are many signs individuals may be experiencing an addiction. However, only some of those signs are relevant to addressing the diagnosis of Alcoholism or Alcohol Use Disorder. The AUDIT, Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, developed by the World Health Organization, helps individuals and clinicians evaluate alcohol consumption, drinking behaviors, and alcohol-related problems in their 10-item screening.
Regarding alcoholism, how often you drink, how much you drink, and your drinking behaviors all impact the evaluation process. With the potential to score a 40 on the 10-item audit, any score above an eight is deemed “hazardous or harmful alcohol use.” In addition, the guide explicitly addresses blacking out, injuries, interventions, and avoiding routine activities like work or family obligations. These are all warning signs that drinking has transitioned from problematic to addiction.
Is My Spouse an Alcoholic?
Identifying these signs of alcohol abuse in a spouse or loved one can be challenging to separate the person from the problems their actions have caused. Addiction is a disease, and it can cause massive physical, personality, and behavioral changes. Intimate relationships between individuals, when one of which is an alcoholic, can cause increased incidences of physical and verbal abuse and resentment and isolate the individual from their family.
Determining if your spouse is an alcoholic is a challenging personal decision and should be addressed with the utmost concern. Addiction often comes with physical, behavioral, and psychological warning signs that loved ones should be aware of. Changes in personal appearance and weight are often some of the more obvious physical changes. Behaviorally, you may notice that your loved one has started to isolate themselves to avoid questions about their drinking or even to drink alone. They may also begin to abandon their favorite activities and even experience legal trouble related to alcohol abuse. Finally, alcoholics can experience many psychological changes in motivation, responsibility, and mood. Addiction can increase secrecy, lying, irritability, and instability.
How to Get a Loved One Help
Many times, it seems like your individualized attempts to get someone help may be unsuccessful. Sometimes it can be difficult for family members and close loved ones to see their struggles. Figuring out how to support them and finding treatment that caters to their needs can seem like an overwhelming task. To get your loved ones the help they need, it may be a good idea to involve a rehab company in an intervention.
One specific when it comes to interventions is to maintain “I” statements about how you feel and perceive the situations. This puts the ownness on you and can help that individual to reflect on what actions are causing this behavior. However, when starting the statements with “you,” they can sound accusatory and put the individual on the defensive, shutting down the potential for collaborative discussion.
Intervention is a valuable part of the process that many people can make uncomfortable and turn people off the idea of getting help for addiction if it’s not done correctly. Get help from a licensed practitioner or treatment facility. They will give tips to keep the intervention positive and supportive versus the potential to get accusatory and negative. Some treatment centers can provide a medical professional to support the planning and implementation of the intervention.
Relevance Recovery is an Alcohol Treatment Center in New Jersey
Relevance Recovery can help your loved ones get the alcohol treatment they need. For example, suppose you believe that your spouse has a drinking problem. In that case, we offer specific resources for interventions and specific addiction programming for teens and young adults, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and dedicated First Responder treatment programs that address the particular concerns surrounding the use of individuals in those communities. Relevance Recovery is a drug addiction and mental health rehab center in New Jersey. We believe that you are relevant and that your experiences were part of your journey, but they don’t have to dictate your future. So explore, grow, and recover with us at Relevance Recovery.
