Substance misuse

Drinking and families

More than 2 million people in Britain grow up in families where one or both parents have a drink problem. You may be one of them or you may know someone in that situation. You're not on your own.

In families where someone is drinking heavily, there may be a number of problems.

People may drink to deal with stress, but drinking can make the situation worse - it's a vicious circle.
It may be difficult to know how a heavy drinker is going to behave next, which causes tension and uncertainty within the family.
Communication within the family can become difficult.
Everything can start to revolve around the drinking, if that's the only thing that the family thinks and talks about.
The family can feel ashamed of the drinker's behaviour and become cut off from everyone outside.
Practical difficulties may include accidents, money, sex, legal and health problems. Some of these (for example sexual problems or incontinence) may be embarrassing to talk about.
Children may understand more about what is going on than their parents realise and this can be reflected in the way they behave.
If the drinker no longer takes responsibility for things like paying the bills or doing household jobs, other family members may take these tasks over. This can lead to resentment on both sides.
There may be arguments and violence.

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