It took more than a few years but Emily finally made up her mind that she had it with her husband’s abusive and excessive drinking. She was fed up from seeing Barry come home after midnight from drinking instead of spending quality time with her and their three daughters. She was also exhausted from the third DUI Barry recently received. In addition she was fed up from manufacturing reasons for Barry when he couldn’t show up for work due to his problems with drinking. Not only this but she was nervous and depressed about the fact that their relationship was going downhill due to Barry’s unhealthy drinking. And lastly she was worn-out from the uncertain financial mess into which he had put his family due to his unhealthy drinking behavior. In short, Emily felt that her mental health was drifting away due to Barry’s drinking problems.
When Abusive Drinking Motivates a Person to do Something Positive About an Individual’s Drinking Problem
One Wednesday afternoon when Emily was pondering what she could do about her husband’s unhealthy and abusive drinking, she got to the point that she frankly had to do something constructive to cut into the damaging cycle of Barry’s abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior.
So she looked on the Internet under “alcohol rehabilitation” and located many rehabilitation facilities that were all located less than twenty miles away from where she and Barry resided. Because she didn’t know anything about these rehab clinics, she finally determined that she needed to call some of them and ask some relevant questions. When she called each rehab facility she identified who she was and stated that her spouse was involved in careless drinking behavior. She also stated that Barry, her husband, had a comprehensive health insurance program at his place of employment and that residential or outpatient alcohol addiction rehabilitation would be covered if a physician in the company health plan suggested the rehab.
At one rehab facility, Emily was stunned that she was able to talk directly with a healthcare practitioner who suggested that she come to the rehabilitation clinic to discuss her husband’s hazardous and excessive drinking behavior in much more detail.
Emily Talks to a Therapist About Her Husband’s Abusive and Hazardous Drinking
When Emily got to the rehab clinic, she filled out some forms and then after about ten or fifteen minutes got to see a psychologist. After listening to Emily talk about her husband’s careless and abusive drinking, the psychologist in an encouraging but firm way explained to Emily how she more likely than not played a part in her husband’s excessive and abusive drinking through the months and the years by justifying his behavior instead of letting him go through the consequences of his unhealthy drinking behavior.
Emily Learns That She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Careless and Hazardous Drinking
More to the point, the therapist told Emily that she may have been unintentionally enabling Barry’s hazardous drinking behavior. The healthcare professional also stressed the fact that even though Emily could not control Barry’s conduct, with the support and encouragement of the treatment team at the healthcare center she would not only be able to learn how to stop contributing to Barry’s hazardous and abusive drinking but she could also learn how to encourage him to schedule an appointment at the rehab clinic so that he could discuss his hazardous and abusive drinking behavior with a physician.
Fortunately after Emily revealed this to Barry, and he saw that she was not joking, Barry told her that he had been extremely disturbed by his abusive and unhealthy drinking behavior and that he was very relieved to hear that Emily wanted to do something helpful about his excessive and abusive drinking behavior. Consequently, he made an appointment to see a counselor at the local alcohol treatment clinic. Needless to say this enhanced Emily’s self image.
Barry Agrees to See a Counselor About His Hazardous and Irresponsible Drinking
While simply calling a rehab program does not mean that an individual’s unhealthy and abusive drinking behavior will end or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one manifests will simply fade away, scheduling an appointment is evidently a much needed component in the treatment process. And since Barry was serious about getting professional assistance for his excessive and careless drinking, the likelihood of a successful recovery was substantially enhanced.