how do I help

[scared lady]

Hello every one, I need to know how to help someone very dear to me. He told me last night that he has a drinking problem and has asked my help. The thing is he doesn't want anyone else to know about it. I love him with all my heart and I knew he had this problem but I didn't know how to approach him about it. He wants to stop cold turkey, but I don't know if this is the way to go. I welcome any suggestions on how we go about helping him.




scare lady

[Determinatrix]

how do I help

Hi Scared Lady - Get him on this site. He will have tremendous support here.
He may be able to stop cold turkey, it just depends. Does he have a doctor he can share with openly?
That would be the best.

You stay in touch with us as well. There is a section here called Family Members Affected that may be helpful for you.

Dx

[witchywoman]

how do I help

Hi SL. do you have a doctor you can talk to in confirdence about possible withdrawal, depending on how long/much your friend has been drinking it can be prettly bad, my drinking was out of control for problaby for the last 6-12 months,definately really bad or the last 6 were I was drinking a bottle of wine a night atleast 3 times a week, more on the weekends, but i was a sneaky drinker who used to drink at least 1/2 to 3/4 of litre of water once I fininshed drinking, so my physical withdrawal was not to bad, also for the 1st 3-4 days before I went completely AF, I still had one glass of wine to help wean me off before switching to somethink Non -AL. Determinatrix is right, show him this site, he can see there is alot of (anonymous) support here, I did not want to go to AA, to public for me, I'm not ready to put that kind of presure on myself, so this site is the best, also you can generally find someone online at anytime which is a big help, also for you, it will help to know you are not alone.
Witchy
XX

[Boss.man]

how do I help

Be careful. A lot of us have kept hidden a long time, and got pretty defensive about it.

Definitely the supps help with withdrawal symptoms. Please be aware what to look for there. The first 3-7 days are really tough. After that, it's all "in the mind" and is a long-term habit/craving battle. Having a friend like you there will really help in both phases.