How Alcoholism Affects Relationships: Important Factors to Note

Alcohol abuse and drug addiction is a major addiction and millions of people from all over the world are facing it. Almost everyone knows that alcohol addiction affects the physical health of the addict but perhaps very few people know that alcohol addiction also affects intimate relationships severely. It not only ruins the life of alcoholic but also it affects every person who is close to you, including your family, your friends, and relatives. So this effect is very different from health effects.

Anyone who consumes alcohol regularly, they definitely suffer from physical, mental, and emotional disorders. Therefore, in order to reduce these effects, they start consuming more quantity of alcohol. So, in such a situation, it is very difficult to maintain healthy relationships especially for an alcoholic because there are many violent incidents occur in which alcoholics deliberately injure their loved ones. However, alcoholic affects the relationships in various ways but this affect mainly depends on that how much alcohol is drunk by alcoholic every day. See below how alcoholism affects relationships:

Trust
The foundation of any strong relationship is based on trust. But unfortunately, alcoholism firstly targets trust. This is such a silent enemy which gradually snatches everything from the addict because lying and cheating become the habit of alcoholic. As a result, the foundation of trust in your relationships breaks down.
Addicts always support their addiction, regardless of the situations. Although usually alcoholic try to hide their misdeeds from others because the inner embarrassment is felt. And apart from this, an addict knows very well that he is wrong but still he does not accept it. As a result, the risk of breakdown of relationships increase.

Communication
Communication plays an important role in strengthening any relationship. And it is very necessary for a close relationship. In fact, the close relationship is not possible without it. On the contrary, alcoholics forget to talk to their loved ones, they begin to argue, and during the arguments, sometimes they become violent towards the loved ones. As a result, there is a greater impact on the ability to communicate and gradually the relationships begin to end.

Violence and Mood
If you consume alcohol in excessive amounts, it affects your brain directly. Because of which your behaviour and mood changes which means negative emotions are more exposed than positive effects that include anger, anxiety, irritability, and depression. If a member of a family is alcoholic, then things get complicated in that house. Even the family can get mental and physical harm. If you are careless, it can cause feelings of self-harm and isolation.

Financial Troubles
Often alcohol becomes the priority of alcoholics and after that, big problems start to appear in which financial problem affects the alcoholic and his family most. It is often seen that due to the addiction, the alcoholic becomes unable to work but still spends money on alcohol which causes the destruction. After that, the facts of addiction pile up. As a result, it is natural to increase stress in your married life. Due to the financial crisis, not only the alcoholic has trouble spending more on alcohol but the situation of the family becomes more miserable. But by that time it takes the form of the disease and in such a situation, the possibility of breaking relationships is most. And then for an alcoholic, it becomes difficult to forget that he had ever preferred alcohol abuse.

Sexual Relation
It is commonly seen that due to alcohol addiction, sexual intimacy between two partners are always interrupted because an alcoholic partner may lose interest in having sexual relations or increases the likelihood of being unable to perform. As you know that the alcoholic usually looks less attractive, as a result, the non-alcoholic partner may also be less interested in them. Due to which the incident of infidelity is common and it can cause uncontrollable drinking, as well as sexually transmitted diseases, are at risk of spreading rapidly. When a partner’s infidelity is revealed, a sense of guilt or shame arises which definitely affects the relationship. Consequently, a non-alcoholic partner can decide to remove himself or he also starts looking for love in others.

Problems With Your Kids
Most alcoholics live in this misunderstanding that their drinking is not affecting anyone but their behaviour often affects their family and especially their children. Alcoholic parents behaviour affects children mentally and emotionally. Not attending school parents-meetings, not taking care of children or beating the child without any reason, these all put a profound impact on the child’s mentality. And because of the alcoholic’s behaviour, sometimes children have so profound effect that they decide to end their life.
Apart from these, there are several reasons which affect relationships. So, if you do not want to lose your family or friends, you have to understand that alcohol addiction is a disease that needs treatment. Therefore, reach out for professional help so that you may lead a happy life with family and friends.

Chinye Onwamaka

Chinye Onwamaka is a professional makeup artist and fashion consultant based in Lagos Nigeria. She writes about fashion, beauty and relationship tips for young people.