subject: Insidious Nature Of Alcoholism [print this page] The problem that makes alcohol misuse so insidious is the way in which it leverages on the existing foundations of established friendships. Many alcohol abusers that I have known, I have known from childhood and have been with them during our first timid experiments with the drug and seen the slow, gradual transition as the tendrils of alcoholism burrowed into their lives, almost imperceptibly. Because we have shared these experiences and grown up drinking alcohol together, to call attention to the behaviour of the other feels almost hypocritical. To mention this behaviour or try and call attention to it invariably seems like a personal attack or criticism, and an old friend who does not recognise the problem may be hurt and confused by your intervention, unable to grasp the difference between their own destructive behaviour and yours, given the number of drinks and experiences you've shared.
This can be heart-breaking. Hurting a friend is emotionally painful, even if it is with the truth and seeing them destroying themselves with alcohol even moreso. This puts the concerned friend in an awful position between a rock and a hard place. Do you continue to be their friend and enable their behaviour in doing so? Or do you make a stand and risk destroying the friendship and any subsequent chance you might have of helping them in the process? This is even more complicated when you have a larger social group to contend with, with a myriad of permutations depending on the web of relationships and how each individual factors into the equation.
Ultimately, statistics indicate that around 40% of recovered alcoholics attribute their turnaround to the intervention of a friend, even if they were initially resistant or outright rejected the attempt. These people, they credit with saving their lives. Invariably this means that over half of alcoholics are statistically likely to resist any attempt you make at intervention. However, it also means that you have a nearly 50-50 chance of getting through.
The best thing to do before making a decision of any kind is to seek alcohol advice. There are many private organisations, charities and government initiatives, as well as helplines and websites that contain huge amounts of information on this topic. Knowledge is power, and the better you can arm yourself with advice and information, the better equipped you will be to make the decision, and should that decision involve making an intervention - how to do so effectively.
