You are probably already aware of the damaging long-term effects alcohol addiction has on the human body. Still, you may not know the full scope of how alcoholism affects relationships. Alcoholism has a simultaneous destructive effect on physical and mental wellbeing, meaning drinking and relationships are intrinsically connected. If you or a loved one is struggling with an alcohol use disorder, contact Midwest Recovery online or call us at 833.627.0039 today to learn how our alcohol addiction program can help.
Your Drinking and Relationships
If you drink alcohol in excess and/or regularly, you may notice the impact it is having on nearly every close relationship in your life. But to fully grasp how alcoholism affects relationships, you must first look inward to see how your drinking alters you.
The three most common ways in which drinking and relationships are linked include:
Alcohol Turns You Into A Different Person
Alcohol consumption, addiction, and alcoholism have a profound impact on the human brain and a person’s behavior. When you are drinking, likely, you behave much differently than you do when you are sober.
For example, alcohol will naturally lower your inhibitions, and depending on your personality. This means that drinking alcohol may cause you to become more:
- Violent
- Sexually aggressive
- Willing to say and do things that you would never say or do in sober situations
The way drinking and relationships change as a result can be startling and catastrophic. Consuming alcohol in excess or frequently may also cause you to engage in riskier behaviors, like gambling or driving while intoxicated. These actions can lead to any number of relationship problems with friends, family, and coworkers. If you see yourself or a loved one becoming someone they are not because of their drinking, an Ohio alcohol rehab may help overcome the effects of alcoholism.
Even if your drinking may not bring on dramatic changes that lead to a traumatic or tragic event, the important people in your life may still notice the changes, which can negatively affect your relationships.
You Are Not Present
Quality relationships require quality time to be spent together doing things you both enjoy. Unfortunately, this can be a challenge for people with alcohol addiction because while having your thoughts dominated by alcohol, drinking, or recovering from hangovers or withdrawal, you rarely are present enough to be in the moment with the most important people in your life. Instead, alcohol becomes the most important thing in your life. And when you devote all your time, energy, money, and thoughts to alcohol, your relationships will suffer. This is how alcoholism affects relationships.
Living A Secret Life
For any relationship to work and thrive, open and honest communication is necessary to build and maintain trust. If you are battling an addiction to alcohol, you could be living a secret life to hide your addiction from your loved ones, friends, family, and your employer. You may find yourself telling small lies to start with, but then the story you fabricate to others, and yourself becomes out of control as you attempt to keep your drinking a secret.
Of course, the people closest to you will soon notice your secretive behavior, and as a result, your relationships will become strained, stressed, and begin to fall apart. When the most significant people in your life discover that you have been hiding your drinking, along with all its consequences, it may have reached the point where those relationships are too broken to be saved. Ohio alcohol rehab with Midwest Recovery can help you not only get clean but begin to repair those fractured connections and once again enjoy healthier relationships with your loved ones and friends.
Learn More at Midwest Recovery
Now that you know how alcoholism affects relationships reach out to us to discover how our alcohol addiction program can be the starting point for reshaping the rest of your life and rebuilding trust with those most important to you. Contact us using our secure online form or call us confidentially at 833.627.0039 today.
