Many moons ago I once called a man who ran a recovery center. He was a nice Christian man and the center was run by his church. I was pretty desperate since I was about 23 years old and my mother had been “out” as an alcoholic since I was 11.
Wanna know what this lovely man said when I pleaded with him for help?
“I can’t help you. She has to come on her own. If she’s not here on her own, we won’t take her.” He then proceeded to hang up on me. I was hurt and so angry, but I came to realize something. I had to start living my own life.
Here’s the thing no one can help you help your loved ones understand that they have a problem. It’s no ones responsibility but their own. What you can do is open your mouth and let everyone around them know they have a very serious problem.
I told my mothers entire family and we will discuss it here and there, sometimes in front of her. She might admit she has a problem or deny it. It depends on her mood, but she stopped getting as drunk at family events. I don’t bother speaking to her when she’s drunk because you can’t have a conversation with a drunk. She’s also learned the hard way only to approach me when she’s sober. My stance on the whole thing is you can be a drunk/addict/bipolar all you want, just don’t do it around me because I won’t be there. It hurts too much after so many years. I’m 36 now.
So try the intervention approach if it’ll make you feel better. Talk to them about their problem. Tell them you will be there if they need you to a degree, but when you’re done doing all the things you can for them and when you see it made no difference don’t feel bad. You did what you could and you can’t do anymore. You might feel like you can, but you can’t. Of course that’s the childs perspective growing up with an alcoholic parent.
If I were a parent dealing with a child…phew…that’s a whole different ball of wax isn’t it? I guess I don’t know…