The Best Value Online RSA Course Offer In Australia!

Author Discusses Life with an Alcoholic

By Peter Cutforth

August 30, 2013

Alcoholic, Anne Morshead, Blind Drunk, drinking alcohol, Problem Drinker, retinitis pigmentosa

An article on News.com.au recently discussed what it’s like to live with an alcoholic, something we all hope to never have to experience, none the less it is still an informative post and a deterrent for binge drinking, which is the leading cause of alcoholism.

The article tells the story of Anne Morshead who actually met her partner in a pub, which she herself admits is ironic considering that it was alcohol that brought them together, yet it was alcohol that eventually threatened to destroy their relationship.

Anne was quoted by News.com.au as saying that anyone has the potential to become an alcohol addict if they drink enough over a long enough period of time, which is something her partner did. Her partner came from a miserable background, with an alcoholic father and he was visually impaired which added to his angst. Angst which spurred on drinking, something many alcoholics are familiar with, popularly termed “drinking away or drowning their sorrows”.

According to Anne our society paints alcohol as an “easy way out” of life’s sorrows. Anne has written a book detailing her experience as the partner of an alcoholic, entitled “Blind Drunk”. This is what she had to say to News.com.au about the book and her experiences:

Anne’s partner suffers from retinitis pigmentosa, which causes tunnel vision and night blindness, among other symptoms. The condition is degenerative and currently incurable.

His impairment inspired the title of Anne’s recently released book, Blind Drunk, in which she describes the struggle of living with an alcoholic and recounts her partner’s counterintuitive path to sobriety.

“Drinking alcohol is such a major part of our social culture. It’s legal, it’s fun and it makes us feel good,” Anne said. “But we tend to conveniently forget that it is a drug.”

As a professional relationship counsellor, Anne believed she could help her partner overcome his alcoholism, but her interference only made the situation worse. For half a decade Anne was “addicted to the addict,” attempting to control his drinking to the point where her own life crumbled.

“I became obsessed with monitoring his drinking, where he was and what he was doing in the same way he was obsessed with the drug,” Anne said.

“Over five years, I became someone I didn’t recognise, as if my spirit was locked away and shrivelled.”

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/how-to-live-with-an-alcoholic-partner-according-to-blind-drunk-author-anne-morshead/story-fneuzlbd-1226694657714#ixzz2bZbKB8rP

Anne goes on to explain how as the partner of an alcoholic, you too can shun the outside work. She began to reject invitations to social events and eventually these invitations dried up. Anne’s story is interesting because it is one of the first which focuses not on the alcoholic but rather on those close to them and how their lives are negatively affected. Alcoholics usually get all the attention but partners and family also suffer. She even explains the difficulty of having to deal with the stigma surrounding having a problem drinker or anyone with an addiction in the family.

Anne also explains how partners of drunks can become obsessed with the addiction and with curing their partners. Read more about Anne’s story http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/how-to-live-with-an-alcoholic-partner-according-to-blind-drunk-author-anne-morshead/story-fneuzlbd-1226694657714#ixzz2bZbKB8rP

 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

{"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}

The Best Value Online RSA
Course Offer In Australia!