Display of Violence - jousting - photo copyright zachstern
I'm going to give you (if I may) one very important fact about alcoholism. It is not just the alcoholic who suffers but at least 4 others close to the alcoholic. It could be argued that these 4 others suffer more than the alcoholic if their suffering is added up and balled together.
Lets think about it. Jane, my partner as you know is an alcoholic. She is a binge alcoholic. Her suffering because of this is "illness or disorder" is after the binge. She feels bad and is sometimes very ill and has to go to hospital. She also feels bad emotionally after a binge - remorse and guilt etc.
For the other 4 they are constantly worried about when the next binge is going to happen. Constantly on the alert for the signs of the beginnings of the binge (this applies to the person living with her - er, me as it happens!). And during the binge they are all worried about her health and whether she will get hurt if she wanders off to the shops for some more booze or something like that. So there are 4 people worried a lot of the time and one alcoholic who only suffers for the 2 weeks after the binge.
The fall out from alcoholism is enormous and if there is a family, it is the children that are damaged the most. Some children will be damaged for the rest of their lives if a parent is an alcoholic. Either through direct violence to the child or indirectly by the child witnessing violence and arguments between the parents brought on by alcoholism. Children sometimes blame themselves for parental arguments. Alcoholism begets alcoholism too. Bad behavior begets more bad behavior.
And that is something else. Sometimes, thankfully rarely, I have been so mad and p*ss*d off with her (mainly her lying and deceit) that I have got dangerously near to hitting her and I not the type to hit women (or men for that matter). I am not an alpha male type. This is another fact about alcoholism, if I have had a glass of wine myself and she is on a binge and misbehaving the wine in me plus her behavior can produce and incendiary mix, which is dangerous.
If I did hit her it would reinforce the fact about alcoholism that I mentioned above, it is the others who often suffer more. Because hitting her would cause massive problems for me, even though on some occasions she has asked me to do it............that's another story.
Fact about alcoholism to Alcoholism and Genetics
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I'd like to hear the experiences of both alcoholics and the victims of alcoholics, please.