How to Discuss Alcoholism With Loved Ones

Discussing and explaining an alcohol addiction to your family and friends can be one of the hardest things you will ever do. If you are dealing with an alcohol addiction yourself, and feel you want to disclose this to your friends and family, then follow these steps on how to discuss alcoholism with loved ones.

Instructions

• 1

  Decide what you will discuss. You may not necessarily be talking about your own alcoholism addiction, but perhaps on behalf of someone else that you care about. You might be explaining what an alcohol addiction is to your children or maybe dealing with it yourself.

• 2

  Talk to your friends and family about what feelings you would experience before, and what feelings you would suppress while drinking alcohol. Also tell them how you plan to manage these feelings in a healthier way.

• 3

  Announce to your family, and friends that you have an alcohol addiction. The sooner you tell people who are close to you of this secret, the sooner you will be on a path to recovery. It is very important to admit you have a problem.

• 4

  Discuss with your friends, and family why you ended up drinking as much a you did, and how you plan to get help for alcoholism. Many people will support another person if they know the person will seek help in the future.

• 5

  Ask your family, and friends for support. Ask them to listen to you if you ever need to talk about anything. Make sure you apologize to the people you may have hurt during your time of drinking.

• 6

  Make an action plan with your friends, family and other loved ones. Tell them that you will get help from support groups such as AA, or even your church if applicable. Reach out to your community for help. Explain to your loved ones that recovery does not happen overnight, and that it might take some time before you get back to regular health.