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Old 11-17-2010, 04:59 PM
  # 5 (permalink)  
jayscott
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Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: California
Posts: 221
Take the story of my experience for what it's worth. My wife is also an alcoholic, and we also have a child (a 4-month-old son). When things got to a breaking point I confronted her and told her that her drinking was endangering the safety of the child and that if she did not get treatment, I was going to have my mother stay with us to watch the baby. She first tried to manipulate the situation and talk me out of it but I held to my position; later that night, she wrote a suicide letter to the baby and left it in the crib with a bottle of vodka and a bottle of xanax.

I am not a suicide expert, but I know enough to treat that as a serious threat. I also spent that night by her bedside in the ER before she was committed on an involuntary 72-hour hold, and then transferred to a rehab program. She lasted 3 weeks before discharging early, relapsed 3 days later, and was back in the ER with a BAC of 0.4.

What happened is that I had begun to break free from the codependent pattern and that the manipulation tools of the alcoholic were no longer effective. She did not have any coping skills, as it was probably the first time in her life that she had to face this kind of lack of control. IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT, just as it was not my fault. You made sure that she received proper medical care after her decision to injure herself.
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