Do we have a problem here?
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Join Date: Sep 2017
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Do we have a problem here?
Hi, I am new here. I'm not an alcoholic however I feel as if I'm struggling with my husbands drinking.
Lets backtrack a few years ago. It was a terrible night in which my husband went out to a bar and got completely obliterated without my being there. Thankfully one of my friends saw him stumbling around town and called me. In a panic, I called him and told him to stay where he is at and that I was on my way. He got angry and hopped in his car and sped away, while my friend drove behind him to make sure he didn't kill himself. This only panicked him more and called me all sorts of god awful hurtful names (mind you this was only a few months before our upcoming wedding). He ended up sleeping in his car stranded somewhere while I sat in his mothers livingroom weeping. The next morning he came to me, a complete mess due to the fact that he thought he was losing me. I told him the thought of cancelling the wedding crossed my mind throughout that horrible night, and he promised he would do whatever I said about his drinking. Because we are young, we were still living with our parents at the time. His mother had told me he would have a 6 pack twice or 3 times a week- I was completely oblivious to this fact. But because I am young and very stupid, I didn't think AA meetings would be necessary as long as he promised to only drink what I'm comfortable with.
Fast track almost 2 years later, after countless arguments about "trust" and "babysitting" him, I am at wits end. He's been wonderful about asking to go get a drink, and asking how many i would be comfortable with. But he always seems to push me beyond comfort- asking me for "just one more please" and "I'm fine's" although I can hear the slur in his speech. I'm never right or I am delusional if I ever bring up him sounded the least bit drunk. I've asked him to just quit drinking for me all together but have gotten nowhere with that as he thinks there is no problem due to him sometimes following my guidelines.
A few weeks ago I told him I was going to trust him completely and stop monitoring his drinking as much as I have (he said he feels like a child with his mother and I'm sure that's not great for a new marriage). He does well sometimes.. other nights, like last night, he downs a 6 pack and has me to answer to in the morning(he apologized and said I was right to be upset). I'm trying to trust him but...I don't know if it's healthy for me to do so right now.
Lets backtrack a few years ago. It was a terrible night in which my husband went out to a bar and got completely obliterated without my being there. Thankfully one of my friends saw him stumbling around town and called me. In a panic, I called him and told him to stay where he is at and that I was on my way. He got angry and hopped in his car and sped away, while my friend drove behind him to make sure he didn't kill himself. This only panicked him more and called me all sorts of god awful hurtful names (mind you this was only a few months before our upcoming wedding). He ended up sleeping in his car stranded somewhere while I sat in his mothers livingroom weeping. The next morning he came to me, a complete mess due to the fact that he thought he was losing me. I told him the thought of cancelling the wedding crossed my mind throughout that horrible night, and he promised he would do whatever I said about his drinking. Because we are young, we were still living with our parents at the time. His mother had told me he would have a 6 pack twice or 3 times a week- I was completely oblivious to this fact. But because I am young and very stupid, I didn't think AA meetings would be necessary as long as he promised to only drink what I'm comfortable with.
Fast track almost 2 years later, after countless arguments about "trust" and "babysitting" him, I am at wits end. He's been wonderful about asking to go get a drink, and asking how many i would be comfortable with. But he always seems to push me beyond comfort- asking me for "just one more please" and "I'm fine's" although I can hear the slur in his speech. I'm never right or I am delusional if I ever bring up him sounded the least bit drunk. I've asked him to just quit drinking for me all together but have gotten nowhere with that as he thinks there is no problem due to him sometimes following my guidelines.
A few weeks ago I told him I was going to trust him completely and stop monitoring his drinking as much as I have (he said he feels like a child with his mother and I'm sure that's not great for a new marriage). He does well sometimes.. other nights, like last night, he downs a 6 pack and has me to answer to in the morning(he apologized and said I was right to be upset). I'm trying to trust him but...I don't know if it's healthy for me to do so right now.
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Join Date: Jun 2012
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please dont take this the wrong way. But in my active drinking days when my wife tried to "control" my drinking all it did was make me wanna drink all the more. it drove me nuts to no end. Now that i'm sober and i've read lots of stories and such i find that time and time again the person in your shoes usually has 0 control over the others sobriety or lack there of. So you could be fooling yourself thinking your "controling" his drinking and just further aggravating the situation.
Of course you could be protecting him from himself some too who knows it might be far worse if you didnt try what your trying.
now fast forward my wife for whatever reason really backed off me with that kinda stuff. THAT is when i became really unhinged. In my case while it got ugly and got worse before it got better. It put me on the fast track to my proverbial down fall that would drove me to quit drinking. I was free to screw myself over. I could no longer blame her for not holding me accountable or blame her for making me wanna drink more for trying to take it away. It was all on me. I was able to go become the worst drunken mess ic ould be all on my own.
Now immediatly didnt feel that drinking was my problem. I had lots of problems but drinking was not it.
I got sober because my anxiety and panic just was off the charts and i was willing to try anything to make that go away even if it meant put a cork in my favorite beverage.
I dont want to tell you to let him go unhinged like i did.
But for your own sanity I hope you can find a place of acceptance and realize that you cant control this. and it is not your fault. This is ENITIRELY up to him to resolve or not.
I think all you can do is try and look out for you really. Us alcohics will tell our spouses or whoemever whatever BS we have too in order to keep the booze flowing (IE him telling you he'll do better) I'd tell my wife the same nonsense. It was all just a load of BS to keep her out of the way of my precious booze. whom yes i probably did love a heck of a lot more then her at the time.
I hope my post helps. Sounds like a tough situation.
Of course you could be protecting him from himself some too who knows it might be far worse if you didnt try what your trying.
now fast forward my wife for whatever reason really backed off me with that kinda stuff. THAT is when i became really unhinged. In my case while it got ugly and got worse before it got better. It put me on the fast track to my proverbial down fall that would drove me to quit drinking. I was free to screw myself over. I could no longer blame her for not holding me accountable or blame her for making me wanna drink more for trying to take it away. It was all on me. I was able to go become the worst drunken mess ic ould be all on my own.
Now immediatly didnt feel that drinking was my problem. I had lots of problems but drinking was not it.
I got sober because my anxiety and panic just was off the charts and i was willing to try anything to make that go away even if it meant put a cork in my favorite beverage.
I dont want to tell you to let him go unhinged like i did.
But for your own sanity I hope you can find a place of acceptance and realize that you cant control this. and it is not your fault. This is ENITIRELY up to him to resolve or not.
I think all you can do is try and look out for you really. Us alcohics will tell our spouses or whoemever whatever BS we have too in order to keep the booze flowing (IE him telling you he'll do better) I'd tell my wife the same nonsense. It was all just a load of BS to keep her out of the way of my precious booze. whom yes i probably did love a heck of a lot more then her at the time.
I hope my post helps. Sounds like a tough situation.
Welcome to SR EKBT. Sorry to hear of what brings you here, but your husband sounds exactly like a lot of us when we were drinking too. Many of the things you list are very common with alcoholics including:
* Blaming other people for his behavior/drinking
* Drinking more than he plans on, more often than he plans to
* Drunk driving
* Ignoring obvious signs of addiction and drunkenness
As ZJW mentions, unfortunately there's really not much you can do to "control" him - he will need to be the one that decides to get better. And if he is an alcoholic like the rest of us, total abstinence/quitting is the only possible solution. Once you cross the line into alcohlism, you can never go back to "regular" drinking.
If he continues to go down this path, you really need to start thinking about taking care of/protecting yourself. Alcohlism is a very selfish addiction and people under it's grips do very selfish things - even to people they love like spouses/family/etc. And you may have to prepare yourself for the possibility that he's never going to quit. It's absolutely possible that he could quit and get better, but only he can make that choice.
You might benefit from our Friends and Family of alcoholics forums here as well, you can meet people who have gone through ( or are going through ) exactly what you are going through. And they can offer support and suggestions for how to make it through these difficult times.
* Blaming other people for his behavior/drinking
* Drinking more than he plans on, more often than he plans to
* Drunk driving
* Ignoring obvious signs of addiction and drunkenness
As ZJW mentions, unfortunately there's really not much you can do to "control" him - he will need to be the one that decides to get better. And if he is an alcoholic like the rest of us, total abstinence/quitting is the only possible solution. Once you cross the line into alcohlism, you can never go back to "regular" drinking.
If he continues to go down this path, you really need to start thinking about taking care of/protecting yourself. Alcohlism is a very selfish addiction and people under it's grips do very selfish things - even to people they love like spouses/family/etc. And you may have to prepare yourself for the possibility that he's never going to quit. It's absolutely possible that he could quit and get better, but only he can make that choice.
You might benefit from our Friends and Family of alcoholics forums here as well, you can meet people who have gone through ( or are going through ) exactly what you are going through. And they can offer support and suggestions for how to make it through these difficult times.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 8
please dont take this the wrong way. But in my active drinking days when my wife tried to "control" my drinking all it did was make me wanna drink all the more. it drove me nuts to no end. Now that i'm sober and i've read lots of stories and such i find that time and time again the person in your shoes usually has 0 control over the others sobriety or lack there of. So you could be fooling yourself thinking your "controling" his drinking and just further aggravating the situation.
Of course you could be protecting him from himself some too who knows it might be far worse if you didnt try what your trying.
now fast forward my wife for whatever reason really backed off me with that kinda stuff. THAT is when i became really unhinged. In my case while it got ugly and got worse before it got better. It put me on the fast track to my proverbial down fall that would drove me to quit drinking. I was free to screw myself over. I could no longer blame her for not holding me accountable or blame her for making me wanna drink more for trying to take it away. It was all on me. I was able to go become the worst drunken mess ic ould be all on my own.
Now immediatly didnt feel that drinking was my problem. I had lots of problems but drinking was not it.
I got sober because my anxiety and panic just was off the charts and i was willing to try anything to make that go away even if it meant put a cork in my favorite beverage.
I dont want to tell you to let him go unhinged like i did.
But for your own sanity I hope you can find a place of acceptance and realize that you cant control this. and it is not your fault. This is ENITIRELY up to him to resolve or not.
I think all you can do is try and look out for you really. Us alcohics will tell our spouses or whoemever whatever BS we have too in order to keep the booze flowing (IE him telling you he'll do better) I'd tell my wife the same nonsense. It was all just a load of BS to keep her out of the way of my precious booze. whom yes i probably did love a heck of a lot more then her at the time.
I hope my post helps. Sounds like a tough situation.
Of course you could be protecting him from himself some too who knows it might be far worse if you didnt try what your trying.
now fast forward my wife for whatever reason really backed off me with that kinda stuff. THAT is when i became really unhinged. In my case while it got ugly and got worse before it got better. It put me on the fast track to my proverbial down fall that would drove me to quit drinking. I was free to screw myself over. I could no longer blame her for not holding me accountable or blame her for making me wanna drink more for trying to take it away. It was all on me. I was able to go become the worst drunken mess ic ould be all on my own.
Now immediatly didnt feel that drinking was my problem. I had lots of problems but drinking was not it.
I got sober because my anxiety and panic just was off the charts and i was willing to try anything to make that go away even if it meant put a cork in my favorite beverage.
I dont want to tell you to let him go unhinged like i did.
But for your own sanity I hope you can find a place of acceptance and realize that you cant control this. and it is not your fault. This is ENITIRELY up to him to resolve or not.
I think all you can do is try and look out for you really. Us alcohics will tell our spouses or whoemever whatever BS we have too in order to keep the booze flowing (IE him telling you he'll do better) I'd tell my wife the same nonsense. It was all just a load of BS to keep her out of the way of my precious booze. whom yes i probably did love a heck of a lot more then her at the time.
I hope my post helps. Sounds like a tough situation.
Thank you SO much for your reply. It has definitely crossed my mind that maybe the more "naggy" and controlling I try to be about his drinking, the worse it might make it (i.e. Him just going behind my back entirely, hiding booze in the house etc- thankfully this hasn't happened yet as far as I know). I try to be as understanding as posible, and try to not sound negative as much as I can whenever he DOES slip up so that he knows he can confide in me and trust me if he does tend to have a bit much. However I still do have my moments of "if you loved me you'd quit drinking", which are entirely unfair but I am still trying to learn about how to handle this the right way.
I absolutely have had my thoughts about just backing off and letting him just do whatever he wants but I'm not at that point yet. I see it in the near future though and I'm bracing myself for whenever it happens- I can only monitor so much for so long.
Thank you for your reply again, it's out a calm on my heart for the night as It is comforting to know I'm not the only one with the experience. It's hard feeling so alone in this.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 8
Thank you. I've only been here for a day and already I am learning so much about how to handle it. I will be bracing my emotions through this process
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 8
Welcome to SR EKBT. Sorry to hear of what brings you here, but your husband sounds exactly like a lot of us when we were drinking too. Many of the things you list are very common with alcoholics including:
* Blaming other people for his behavior/drinking
* Drinking more than he plans on, more often than he plans to
* Drunk driving
* Ignoring obvious signs of addiction and drunkenness
As ZJW mentions, unfortunately there's really not much you can do to "control" him - he will need to be the one that decides to get better. And if he is an alcoholic like the rest of us, total abstinence/quitting is the only possible solution. Once you cross the line into alcohlism, you can never go back to "regular" drinking.
If he continues to go down this path, you really need to start thinking about taking care of/protecting yourself. Alcohlism is a very selfish addiction and people under it's grips do very selfish things - even to people they love like spouses/family/etc. And you may have to prepare yourself for the possibility that he's never going to quit. It's absolutely possible that he could quit and get better, but only he can make that choice.
You might benefit from our Friends and Family of alcoholics forums here as well, you can meet people who have gone through ( or are going through ) exactly what you are going through. And they can offer support and suggestions for how to make it through these difficult times.
* Blaming other people for his behavior/drinking
* Drinking more than he plans on, more often than he plans to
* Drunk driving
* Ignoring obvious signs of addiction and drunkenness
As ZJW mentions, unfortunately there's really not much you can do to "control" him - he will need to be the one that decides to get better. And if he is an alcoholic like the rest of us, total abstinence/quitting is the only possible solution. Once you cross the line into alcohlism, you can never go back to "regular" drinking.
If he continues to go down this path, you really need to start thinking about taking care of/protecting yourself. Alcohlism is a very selfish addiction and people under it's grips do very selfish things - even to people they love like spouses/family/etc. And you may have to prepare yourself for the possibility that he's never going to quit. It's absolutely possible that he could quit and get better, but only he can make that choice.
You might benefit from our Friends and Family of alcoholics forums here as well, you can meet people who have gone through ( or are going through ) exactly what you are going through. And they can offer support and suggestions for how to make it through these difficult times.
I will absolutely look into that forum. I definitely need support- I'm alone in this and it's very, very draining and difficult. I appreciate your reply- every bit of advice is HUGE for me and I've only been here a short amount of time. I can't express my gratitude enough for all your information
I'm so glad you found SR and feel for you having to deal with this situation.
I totally agree with Scott and zjw, only he can make the decision to stop drinking.,
As mentioned a few times, please take care of yourself
Also there's a program that affiliated with AA called Al-Anon, members are people, Mothers, fathers, wives and husbands who are worried about someone with a drinking problem. I listed the website below.
https://al-anon.org
Wishing you the best. Please keep us updated and thank you for your post
I totally agree with Scott and zjw, only he can make the decision to stop drinking.,
As mentioned a few times, please take care of yourself
Also there's a program that affiliated with AA called Al-Anon, members are people, Mothers, fathers, wives and husbands who are worried about someone with a drinking problem. I listed the website below.
https://al-anon.org
Wishing you the best. Please keep us updated and thank you for your post
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Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,981
Alcoholism is something that is progressive and gets nothing but worse over time. It sounds like he's just doing classic behaviors of making empty promises, swearing to cut down, etc,.. but that never happens and alcohol will always be the #1 thing in his life until he makes the decision to quit on his own and take the steps to do so.
There is nothing you can do to get him to stop, and codependency also is a toxic addiction that it sounds like you're getting into.
I also agree with checking out the family and friends section on this forum, as well as alanon meetings.
There is nothing you can do to get him to stop, and codependency also is a toxic addiction that it sounds like you're getting into.
I also agree with checking out the family and friends section on this forum, as well as alanon meetings.
I'm sorry to have to tell you that my recovering alcoholic husband used to drink as much as your fiancé. I married him anyway. Fast forward 14 years and 3 kids later, I unsuccessfully tried to monitor or control the amount of his drinking all this time, hoping he loved us enough to stop. It has been a rollercoaster to say the least, and some nights, absolute hell living with him. His 6 pack eventually turned into a 12 pack. He recently quit drinking (again) but to be honest, if I had been able to talk to myself at age 25 (I'm 40 now) I would have told myself to not marry this man! I do love him but my life and my children's life has been turned upside down by his alcoholism and even his recovery. Please think long and hard at what kind of life and man you think you deserve and want for your future. Take care of yourself. We all know what you're going through, you are not alone! Hugs to you.
EKBT, welcome to SR. I'd like to encourage you to come visit over in the Family and Friends section of the forum here: https://www.soberrecovery.com/forums...ly-alcoholics/
The fact that you title your thread "Do WE have a problem" as well as the fact that you're posting in the Alcoholics section of the forum when you are NOT an alcoholic yourself are both red flags for me. There is not only one problem, it is not jointly owned, you cannot help him/make him deal w/the problems that are his, and him fixing his problems will NOT fix yours, however counterintuitive that sounds.
I tried to be oh so helpful too--I was on the computer, finding meetings for XAH, asking about his progress, how things were going w/sponsor and so on. I tied myself in knots to be "supportive" of him. I did nothing to help myself, b/c after all, I wasn't the one with a problem, HE was! Well, time and experience showed me how wrong I was about that--I had my own issues, and I needed my own recovery to learn how to deal w/them.
Hope to see you over in F&F.
The fact that you title your thread "Do WE have a problem" as well as the fact that you're posting in the Alcoholics section of the forum when you are NOT an alcoholic yourself are both red flags for me. There is not only one problem, it is not jointly owned, you cannot help him/make him deal w/the problems that are his, and him fixing his problems will NOT fix yours, however counterintuitive that sounds.
I tried to be oh so helpful too--I was on the computer, finding meetings for XAH, asking about his progress, how things were going w/sponsor and so on. I tied myself in knots to be "supportive" of him. I did nothing to help myself, b/c after all, I wasn't the one with a problem, HE was! Well, time and experience showed me how wrong I was about that--I had my own issues, and I needed my own recovery to learn how to deal w/them.
Hope to see you over in F&F.
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Join Date: Sep 2017
Posts: 8
Update
Hello everyone. I think that because some of you took the time to talk to me and give me advice on here (which, by the way, helped me stay strong and prevented me from spinning headfirst into a lonely depression) I figured I should update what has been going on with my husband. A few days after I posted to this thread, things took turn for the worst. My husband ended up drinking the two beers I allowed him, but I found that he had hid one other from me and found 3 large cans of shock tops in the garbage can (which was empty before I “allowed” him to drink). Upon seeing this, I couldn’t control myself anymore. My patience went out the door. I stormed into the bedroom in tears asking him where the other cab had come from. He drunkenly denied drinking more than I had allowed. I showed him the cans and he instantly blamed me for not trusting him and “how dare I check the trash can” and proceeded to tell me basically that my anger was invalid. It was a huge fight where he started pounding the bed and told me to leave the house. I grabbed my keys and drove for hours. I came back to him drinking another beer- I don’t know where it came from either. I went to sleep, exhausted.
The next day I woke up, showered, ready for a day out with my mother. As I was getting dressed he woke up and sat up in bed, quietly staring at me but I refused to make eye contact with him. I refused to show any emotion. I did not care at that point. I put my shoes on, I was ready to go. He breaks down crying- heavy sobs of regret and apologies and pain. He says sorry a million times, that he’s now ready to admit he has a problem and that he can’t do it anymore. I sat down next to him with no emotion on my face. I quietly told him that I will literally file for divorce if I ever see him with /hear of him/ or him smell of another beer again. I tried the whole “weaning” him down thing already. I tried the controlling thing. It was all or nothing. It was alcohol or me. He agreed whole heartedly that he wanted to stop and never pick it up again. Hearing me, the one that has just put up and been walked all over, say for once that I was done sent him in a cold shock. I warned him that through all of this, I have become exceptionally keep to the slight smell of alcohol, the little glaze in his eye if he has even just a few sips. I told him if there’s the slightest hint he is going behind my back, I’m packing up and leaving. He agreed I deserved as much.
It’s been almost 3 whole months and my husband has not picked up another drink. He made it a point to message all his friends and tell them he was done drinking, to which they all sighed in relief and welcomed the idea with open minds. It was hard for him to be around it at first. We’re getting to the stage where he doesn’t even give it a second thought when were at a restaurant and the drink menu is staring at us. He keeps telling me how he can’t believe how different life looks now. The itch from getting his next fix had plagued his life and clouded his thoughts and experiences. He says he now genuinely sees people for their interactions, his love for them- not as an excuse to drink. His temper is back to how he was when I met him- kind, patient, loving. He smells different, his skin doesn’t look toxic (if this even makes any sense). Communication is open and healthy; in the beginning of his recovery, he would tell me when he starting itching for a drink and I would distract him or we would go do something fun. Now, he just wants to do all the fun things for the pure enjoyment of life, and not because it gave him an excuse to drink. I know it’s esrly in his recovery, but I have high hopes for the future. I have seen my husband change dramatically and realized what a monster alcoholism really can be on your relationship. Please send us positive thoughts and well wishes. We feel stronger than ever.
The next day I woke up, showered, ready for a day out with my mother. As I was getting dressed he woke up and sat up in bed, quietly staring at me but I refused to make eye contact with him. I refused to show any emotion. I did not care at that point. I put my shoes on, I was ready to go. He breaks down crying- heavy sobs of regret and apologies and pain. He says sorry a million times, that he’s now ready to admit he has a problem and that he can’t do it anymore. I sat down next to him with no emotion on my face. I quietly told him that I will literally file for divorce if I ever see him with /hear of him/ or him smell of another beer again. I tried the whole “weaning” him down thing already. I tried the controlling thing. It was all or nothing. It was alcohol or me. He agreed whole heartedly that he wanted to stop and never pick it up again. Hearing me, the one that has just put up and been walked all over, say for once that I was done sent him in a cold shock. I warned him that through all of this, I have become exceptionally keep to the slight smell of alcohol, the little glaze in his eye if he has even just a few sips. I told him if there’s the slightest hint he is going behind my back, I’m packing up and leaving. He agreed I deserved as much.
It’s been almost 3 whole months and my husband has not picked up another drink. He made it a point to message all his friends and tell them he was done drinking, to which they all sighed in relief and welcomed the idea with open minds. It was hard for him to be around it at first. We’re getting to the stage where he doesn’t even give it a second thought when were at a restaurant and the drink menu is staring at us. He keeps telling me how he can’t believe how different life looks now. The itch from getting his next fix had plagued his life and clouded his thoughts and experiences. He says he now genuinely sees people for their interactions, his love for them- not as an excuse to drink. His temper is back to how he was when I met him- kind, patient, loving. He smells different, his skin doesn’t look toxic (if this even makes any sense). Communication is open and healthy; in the beginning of his recovery, he would tell me when he starting itching for a drink and I would distract him or we would go do something fun. Now, he just wants to do all the fun things for the pure enjoyment of life, and not because it gave him an excuse to drink. I know it’s esrly in his recovery, but I have high hopes for the future. I have seen my husband change dramatically and realized what a monster alcoholism really can be on your relationship. Please send us positive thoughts and well wishes. We feel stronger than ever.
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I accidentally posted it before I was even done, I added a few more sentences. But yes, it has been nearly 3 months. And yes, I am willing to follow through with divorce if he lies to me again. I love him more than life (especially even more so now) but I refused to put my heart in that situation again.
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Thank you so much Dee, I’m so happy for you and it warms my heart to hear success stories from people first hand. I’m so lucky to have found this forum. I was so alone until I found all of you
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Ultimatums can work. I didn't want a divorce more than I didn't want to quit drinking. So here I am.
I'm glad your husband felt the same way. I know that I was glad I was given such a forceful push, because I knew my life would improve for myself as well.
I'm glad your husband felt the same way. I know that I was glad I was given such a forceful push, because I knew my life would improve for myself as well.
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