How to Help Someone With a Drinking Problem

Alcohol abuse is a common illness and anyone you know, regardless of age or gender, can develop a drinking problem. There are many signs of someone having a problem with alcohol. Some of these signs are the consumption of more than 3 or 4 drinks on one occasion, driving while impaired, personality changes, blackouts or loss of memory, and lying about or hiding alcohol consumption (Reference 1). If you are concerned about a friend or loved one's drinking, there are a few different tactics you can use when discussing their drinking to hopefully get them the help needed.

Things You'll Need

• Alcohol abuse information
• List of alcohol treatment programs

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Instructions

• 1

  Confront the person you want to help, and tell him or her in a concerned way that you think he or she has a drinking problem. State the reasons for why you think this is true. While it may be difficult to talk to people about their problem, the best way to help someone is by confronting them directly and confidently telling them how you feel.

• 2

  Maintain a strong offensive argument. He or she may be very defensive about alcohol and may even suggest that you also have a drinking problem. Try to be calm and assertive about how his or her behavior is affecting you negatively. Avoid becoming defensive yourself. Additionally, show your friend that it is the drinking, and not his or her personality, that is at fault.

• 3

  Keep information from reliable, professional and medical sources about problematic drinking signs or symptoms on site in the event that you need to give your friend more concrete evidence of his or her problem. Print them from the internet (see Resources 1 and 2) beforehand.

• 4

  Avoid lecturing your friend. This may make him or her more defensive. Try to maintain a controlled and calm voice about the matter, and don't act like you are looking down on him or her.

• 5

  Prepare yourself in the event that your friend accepts that he or she has an alcohol problem. Ask questions that will prompt your loved one to think about what is needed to get help. Offer him or her information on organizations, such as Alcoholics Anonymous, where people attend regular support meetings (Reference 2). If he or she wants to decrease alcohol use or stop drinking for a period of time, help him or her formulate a plan or schedule to accomplish these goals.

• 6

  Follow up with your friend after you talke with him or her. Because you have taken the initiative to tell your friend he or she has a problem, you should also commit yourself to being part of his or her support system. Be available to talk to him or her about options for and fears of, as well as later successes with, overcoming his or her drinking problem.