View Single Post
Old 05-07-2013, 01:29 PM
  # 18 (permalink)  
Crazed
Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2013
Posts: 458
The best way to help her would be to not help her at all, because it's not help, it's enabling, and a trade-off, for what you want out of the relationship. In regards to her life, and her life alone, you are helping yes--to postpone her getting well.
This is so true. While living with an active alcoholic, there is the concept of "Loving someone to death." This equates to never letting them feel the true consequences of their actions- always giving them a soft place to land when they screw up.

Any time we've talked about it, she has had plenty of justifications and excuses as to why it's not a problem. Everything from "This is just your view of how someone is supposed to drink," to "It just takes me more to get a buzz because I have a high tolerance," to "I just feel like having a cocktail to wind down after work."
This is called rationalization and justification. Until she realizes and admits she has a problem, in her head she thinks that she can drink like a "normal" person (non-alcoholic).

You will most likely soon see the lying- she will diminish or minimize how much she drinks.

Then you may see manipulation- You will start to feel sorry for her, and perhaps think you are the cause. She will readily allow you to feel this.

Another saying:
"Alcoholics do not have relationships. They take hostages."

So I've spoken enough about her, now what about you? Be careful of falling into your own trap of minimizing how much she drinks, wondering if she is an alcoholic, and thinking you have any control over it. You do not. You cannot bargain, reason, cajole, manipulate, etc. And she cannot try to "cut back." It doesn't work that way for alcoholics.

There is a book called "Getting Them Sober," which is a pretty easy read. When I read it, I realized that about 90% of the things that I was doing to "help" my EXAG stop drinking actually helped keep her sick. And I tried for 13 years.
Crazed is offline