Alcohol abuse affects your relationships in a variety of ways. The effect of alcohol on the brain is to act as a depressant while stimulating the reward center, making you feel happy and relaxed. Overuse of alcohol will cause changes in how you interact with others as you are likely to withdraw from your loved ones as you may feel sufficiently stimulated by alcohol so as not to need the emotional closeness provided by someone in an intimate or family relationship. In other words, alcohol becomes your priority and you relationships take a back seat.
How Alcohol has a Negative Effect on Relationships
Addiction is blind to the harm it causes. Once in the grip of alcohol addiction your behavior to others may change. You may become more self-centered as alcohol tricks your brain into believing that it is more valuable to you than the support of a relationship. You may become manipulative and dishonest in order to maintain your alcohol consumption and be unaware of how upsetting your behavior is to those close to you.
As alcohol directly reduces inhibitions it is difficult to control emotions. You may react with stronger emotions and misjudge a situation due to muddled thinking. Alcohol can make you difficult to reason with and a situation can become nasty quite quickly, this is a common feature of a relationship where one partner misuses alcohol. The other partner may become a victim of emotional or physical abuse at worst or at least finds that their emotional needs are ignored.
Any addiction places a strain on relationships but excessive drinking causes hangovers, poor sleep, anxiety, depression and poor decision making. Rash decisions can be made under the influence of alcohol and reckless behavior can include overspending, driving under the influence and potential job loss. Often the role of maintaining the home or family can fall to the sober partner and this one sided shift in responsibility forms the basis of arguments and struggles which put the relationship at risk.
Get Help for Alcohol Addiction in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Alcohol addiction is an illness and needs to be treated as such. It doesn’t just impact you; it affects those close to you. You can make changes, but you will need help. At Casa Recovery in San Juan Capistrano, CA we understand how alcohol affects relationships and we can offer you a comprehensive recovery program which will not simply help you quit alcohol but help you stay sober. People often use alcohol to help mask problems, or escape stresses and strains of life. With the help of our empathetic counselors you will address any underlying issues which have led to you to misuse alcohol and you will learn techniques to help you stay on track. Contact us today and take the first step.