Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence do more than simply damage your liver - they can create serious problems in your relationships.
Alcoholism and Alcohol Effects on Relationships
People that drink heavily often assume that any problem with alcohol is a problem with their own behaviors. If the individual is not an abusive drunk, for instance, they assume that their bodies are the only thing they are punishing, not their families.
But the truth about heavy drinking is that just because the individual may not be a dangerous drunk does not mean they are not severely negatively impacting their relationships. Alcohol effects on relationships go much deeper, and the alcoholic can cause rifts between themselves and others.
- The first issue, of course, is money. Alcohol is expensive. Spending a great deal of money each day on alcoholic beverages is serious problem that can put a great deal of strain on your wallet. Unless you are independently wealthy, you are likely to suffer financial consequences of constant drinking.
- Alcohol causes people to become less sensitive to the feelings of others. Alcohol makes it difficult for people to distinguish between the other person’s emotions, and thus they may make incorrect judgments that negatively impact their relationship with the other person.
- Time is an issue as well. Drinking is not a “one and done” type of activity. It takes hours out of your day - hours that you could be spending with a partner. Instead, that lack of time can cause you to drift apart emotionally.
- There is evidence that non-alcoholic partners of individuals with alcohol dependence start to become addicted to taking care of their alcoholic partner, causing them additional grief and unfairly putting them in a situation they will have difficulty breaking free from.
- Alcoholism causes a change in the individual’s personality over time. If you have a relationship with someone, and you start to show signs of changing, there is always a chance that your partner will not like the new you.
Alcoholism may be terrible for your body and cause poor decision making, but even if you are able to keep that part of your life in check, negative alcohol effects on relationships can still occur.
