pennywistle

I can't put the name of what I'm describing other than 'co-dependent alcoholism'.
I know someone who is an alcoholic, and it seems everyone this person is in a relationship with, they suddenly becomes a raging drunk and very needy towards this person, their alcoholism is also an addiction to one another if that makes sense.
I was wondering if this is common, if there is a term for it, and if there is any literature on it specifically or if it really is a strong case of alcoholism mixed with co-dependence. Thanks.

Pelican

I spent a lot of time and energy looking up information to support my beliefs about others.

I don't know why.
I wasnt going to cure them.
I wasn't going to be able to control them.

It maybe satisfied my curiosity, but over all it was a waste of my time and my energy.

Now I try to focus on my life and my growth and my recovery, I have found I am worth the time and energy.

Carol Star

I am a triple winner. Codependent/adult child/recoverying alcoholic/addict. The steps are the same.

pennywistle

Thanks Pelican and Carol Star!

dollydo

Heck, I can walk and chew gum, so, I am quite sure one can be both an alcoholic and codependent...in fact, when I think about it you have just described my mother!

Seren

Oh, yes, there are sadly quite a few "double" and even "triple" winners in this world. But I don't think that one necessarily causes the other.....just my 2 cents.

StarCat

XABF was alcoholic, codependent, and narcissistic.
I say this because he'd bend over backwards for a complete stranger and go extremely out of his way, but as soon as he considered you "close" to him suddenly he was done doing favors and expected your world to revolve around him.
Meanwhile his continued to revolve around the liquor store schedules and how many bottles of whiskey he had in his truck.

PaperDolls

So there ARE others like me out there!!

TeM

I can't speak to this scientifically, but my AW and her Drinking Buddy may fall somewhere within that sphere. They talk on the phone daily, and Drinking Buddy comes over at least once a week. DB always leaves before I get home, but on the days she's been there, AW winds up drunk.

DB encourages AW to drink, says it's nobody's business, and that my daughter and I are trying to control her by not letting her drink. I don't know if DB is an alcoholic, but she's definitely quite flaky and insecure. DB's daughter works at a local retail establishment, so she asked my wife to call the manager, pretend to be a customer and brag on her daughter. True story.

Maybe that's not co-dependency, but it's quite strange... and not what I would consider a healthy relationship.

NYCDoglvr

It's very common for alcoholics to come in via Al-anon. They are co-dependent and then realize they're also alcoholic, which is their real problem. I'm both a recovering alcoholic and co-dependent. To make life a lot easier I decided to steer clear of alcoholics, even those in recovery.