Excessive Drinking, an Enabling Spouse, Inspiration for Positive Change, and a Decision Against Divorce
It took quite a few years but Emily at long last decided that she had enough with her husband’s hazardous and excessive drinking. She was worn-out from seeing Barry come home in the early hours of the morning from drinking rather than spending quality time with her and the children. She was also exhausted from the third DWI Barry recently received. Moreover she was tired of generating explanations for her husband when he couldn’t make it to the office due to his problems with drinking. In a similar manner she was apprehensive and depressed about the fact that their relationship was deteriorating due to Barry’s careless drinking. And lastly she was tired of the unstable financial predicament into which he had put his family because of his careless and excessive drinking behavior. In sum, Emily felt that her mental health was deteriorating because of Barry’s drinking problems.
When Careless and Hazardous Drinking Inspires a Person to do Something Affirmative About a Person’s Drinking Problem
One Saturday afternoon when Emily was pondering what she could do about her husband’s careless drinking, she got to the point that she simply had to do something helpful to cut into the unhealthy cycle of Barry’s unhealthy and abusive drinking behavior.
So she looked on the Internet under “alcohol rehabilitation” and discovered quite a few rehabilitation centers that were all located less than 40 miles away from where Barry and she lived. Since she didn’t know a lot about these treatment facilities, she eventually decided to call some of them and ask some important questions. When she called each treatment clinic she introduced herself and said that Barry, her spouse, was engaging in careless and hazardous drinking behavior. She also mentioned that Barry, her husband, had a fine health insurance program at work and that inpatient or outpatient alcohol addiction treatment would be covered if a doctor in the company health program prescribed the rehab.
At one rehab center, Emily was amazed that she was able to speak directly with a therapist who asked her to come to the treatment clinic to discuss her husband’s unhealthy and abusive drinking behavior in more detail.
Emily Talks to a Physician About Her Husband’s Abusive and Hazardous Drinking
When Emily got to the treatment clinic, she filled out some necessary paperwork and then after approximately five or ten minutes got to see a counselor. After listening to Emily go over her husband’s hazardous drinking, the healthcare professional in an encouraging but firm way explained to Emily how she probably played a part in her spouse’s hazardous drinking through the years by making excuses for him instead of allowing him to experience the outcomes of his excessive and hazardous drinking behavior.
Emily Finds Out She Has Been Enabling Her Husband’s Hazardous Drinking
Stated another way, the healthcare professional stated to Emily that she may have been inadvertently enabling Barry’s abusive and hazardous drinking behavior. The therapist also highlighted the fact that even though Emily would not be able to control her spouse’s conduct, with the support and encouragement of the treatment team at the rehab clinic she would not only be able to learn how to avoid contributing to Barry’s unhealthy and abusive drinking but she would also be able to learn how to encourage him to schedule an appointment at the rehab clinic so that he could go over his harmful drinking behavior with a therapist.
His Wife Displays Concern and a New Sense of Commitment
Fortunately after Emily explained this to her husband, and he saw that she meant business, Barry told her that he had been very disturbed by his excessive and unhealthy drinking behavior and that he was very pleased to discover that Emily wanted to do something constructive about his harmful drinking behavior. As a consequence of his wife’s new sense of marital commitment and concern, he made an appointment to see a psychologist at the local alcohol rehabilitation clinic. Needless to say this enhanced Emily’s sense of worth.
Barry Agrees to See a Healthcare Professional About His Hazardous and Careless Drinking
While simply calling a rehab program does not guarantee that a person’s abusive and hazardous drinking behavior will become a non-issue or that one’s warning signs of alcoholism or the alcohol abuse signs one displays will simply vanish, scheduling an appointment is undoubtedly an essential factor in the treatment process. And because Barry was serious about getting professional assistance for his abusive and hazardous drinking, the likelihood of a successful recovery was considerably augmented. paradoxically, Barry’s alcohol abuse resulted in the trigger in his life that prevented his wife from getting a divorce.



