Help for you
You may have spent so much time thinking about their drinking that your own needs have been pushed aside. Your doctor, a counsellor or another professional can help you deal with the effect the situation is having on your life.
You do not have to wait until things become unbearable before asking for help, and you do not need the person who drinks to agree that you need it.
Help for partners
Living with a partner who drinks can affect trust, money, responsibilities, intimacy and everyday family life. You may find yourself constantly adjusting your plans or behaviour around whether they have been drinking.
Individual counselling, family services and support for people affected by someone else's drinking can give you somewhere to talk honestly and help you make decisions about your own life.
Help for parents and other relatives
Parents, adult children, brothers, sisters and other relatives can all be deeply affected by someone's drinking. You may feel responsible for rescuing them, keeping them safe or finding the answer that will finally make things change.
Support can help you understand what is and is not within your control and decide what involvement you are able and willing to have.
Help for children and young people
Children can be affected by drinking in the family even when adults believe they have managed to hide it. They may feel frightened, embarrassed, angry or responsible for keeping the peace.
A trusted adult, doctor, school professional, counsellor or service for children and families can give them somewhere safe to talk. Children should not be expected to monitor, manage or take responsibility for an adult's drinking.
Family counselling and support
Some counselling and alcohol services work with families as well as the person who drinks. Family support can help you talk about what has happened, deal with changes in relationships and find practical ways of coping with life as it is now.
Family members can also seek support separately. Everyone does not have to attend together for help to be useful.
Support from people who understand
Talking to people who have lived with someone else's drinking can be different from explaining it to someone who has never experienced it. You may recognise situations, feelings and reactions that you thought were yours alone.
Family support groups, peer-support services and communities can provide that connection alongside any professional help you or your family need.
Online Support Groups
Online support groups are there whenever you need them. You do not have to travel anywhere, make an appointment or sit in a room full of strangers. You can read quietly until you feel ready to take part, and many communities allow you to remain anonymous.
Most importantly, you are talking to people who understand. They know what it is like to worry about someone's drinking, to wonder what you should do, to be angry with them and frightened for them at the same time. You do not have to explain why it is so difficult.