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Alcoholism can have serious effects on families, including financial strain and the potential for addiction to be passed down to future generations. Alcoholics may struggle to care for themselves and others, and their addiction can cause tension within the family. However, seeking treatment and working together as a family can have a positive impact.
The effects of alcoholism on the family are often more serious than the family immediately realizes. Not only are families generally unable to function normally when one or more members are alcoholics, but the impact of alcoholism on the family can potentially spread to future generations. The pattern of addiction can be mirrored by children who then turn to alcohol to cope with strong emotions because this is the behavior they learned in their formative years.
Alcoholism can tear families apart, particularly when one of the primary caregivers is the addict. Alcoholism can have profound effects on a person’s ability to care for others and for themselves; alcoholics are physically dependent on the substance, which often impairs short-term memory, the ability to reason, and the ability to control motor functions. This makes alcoholics much less able to take care of themselves, let alone other people in the family.
There can be a profound financial effect of alcoholism on the family as well. People with physical and emotional dependence on alcohol can spend a lot of money to satisfy their need for drinks. Some alcoholics lose their jobs and this often forces the family into financial problems.
Parents and guardians aren’t the only parties that can influence a family—there’s also a potential effect of alcoholism on the family if one of the children has a drinking problem. A son or daughter who has problems with alcoholism and binge drinking often forces the family’s attention to find a method for alcohol recovery, forcing other problems to be swept under the rug. Drug addicts are also more likely to be involved in crime and to be involved in other substance abuse, which generally increases the problems associated with alcoholism that the family faces.
An alcoholic cannot really put the needs of the rest of the family before his own because he is psychologically and physically dependent on alcohol. Many people reach the point where they cannot stop drinking even if they want to, unless they enter an alcohol detox program. Recovering alcoholics may also have family members who are constantly worried that the person might relapse, which can put the entire family on pins and needles.
The effects of alcoholism on the family can become positive if the alcoholic family member agrees to stop drinking and seek treatment. Recovery often involves getting everyone to help, requiring a family to come together. The act of working together for the betterment of the family unit can have a huge positive effect that brings everyone together.
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