Congruent

Alcohol problems can enter the lives of those close to someone through very concrete things: a tense evening, an unpaid bill, a broken promise, concern for a child. Partners, parents, siblings or friends may need support for their own experiences even if the person drinking is not ready to ask…

You try to prevent problems, repair the damage and control a loved one’s drinking, while exhaustion builds. This article explores fear, care and the rescuer role, then considers boundaries, each person’s responsibility and the possibility of beginning to care for your own life again.

Care and sacrifice can conceal a pattern that keeps both partners stuck. Explore how addiction and codependency can reinforce each other, the emotional costs described in the article and the role of personal responsibility, boundaries and changes in the way people relate to one another.