Alcohol is a substance that is socially well accepted. We toast with champagne, meet friends for beer, or celebrate great news and events by opening good wine.
On the other hand, there is a stigma on alcoholics. In this case, we are not referring to a moderate intake on rare occasions, but to the constitution of an addictive behavior disorder.
The Alcohol addiction it carries a series of psychological, biological and social consequences. In addition to stigmatization and rejection of others, other important problems may appear at the social level, such as those that occur within the couple. Keep reading and in Psychology-Online we tell you how is the behavior of an alcoholic with his partner. We will see the profile of the alcoholic, if an alcoholic can love, why alcoholics lie, why an alcoholic when he drinks looks like another person and the consequences of living with an alcoholic.
What happens in the mind of an alcoholic? Alcohol is a substance that has a direct impact on the nervous system
Physical consequences of alcohol
- Vascular problems such as arrhythmias, hypertension or heart attack.
- Liver problems such as cirrhosis or hepatitis.
- Pancreas related problems.
- Different types of cancer such as liver, colorectal, or oropharyngeal cancer.
- Weakening of the immune system.
Psychological consequences of alcohol
- Disinhibition.
- Increased aggressiveness.
- Memory problems.
- Insomnia.
- Memory problems.
- Depressive symptoms
- Symptoms of anxiety.
- In severe cases they may appear delusions me hallucinations.
- Withdrawal syndrome with the decrease or cessation of consumption.
In this article, you can see more information about the effects of alcohol on the brain and nervous system.
Social consequences of alcohol
- Labor problems.
- Stigmatization
- Social rejection.
- Family and relationship problems.
There are several alcohol-related disorders that are listed in the main diagnostic classifications and are listed below.
DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association)[1]
This classification recognizes four types of related disorders:
- Alcohol use disorder.
- Alcohol intoxication.
- Alcohol withdrawal.
- Alcohol-related disorder, unspecified: criteria for the above not met pictures but there are symptoms, clinically significant discomfort and / or deterioration in areas such as social or labor.
ICD-11 (World Health Organization)[2]
- Episode of harmful alcohol consumption.
- Harmful pattern of alcohol consumption.
- Alcohol dependence.
- Alcohol intoxication.
- Alcohol withdrawal syndrome.
- Delirium induced by alcohol consumption.
- Alcohol-induced psychotic disorder.
- Other: Other Alcohol Use Disorders, Other Specified Alcohol Use Disorders, and Alcohol Use Disorders (Unspecified).
As we can see, alcohol consumption is heterogeneous: we can drink a lot but seldom, we may need to drink every day, we can present symptoms when we stop consuming, etc. For this reason, the profile of people who consume alcohol can be very different. In this article we talk about the types of alcoholism.
What do we understand by an alcoholic person? Usually we associate alcoholism with dependence, addiction, the need to consume. However, we cannot ignore the rest of the related pictures that can also cause social, work, and physical and mental health problems.
To speak of the behavior of an alcoholic in a relationship is to group together a series of very heterogeneous people. This implies that the type of behavior will be very diverse.
However, there seem to be behaviors that have received more attention due to the frequency with which they appear or their magnitude. Based on the guidance of Roberts, L.J. and McCrady, B.S. (2003)[3], we expose them below and we tell you how an alcoholic behaves with his partner.
1. Violence
Aggressive behavior within the couple is one of the most studied characteristics of the profile of the alcoholic with his partner. This behavior becomes even more important in the context of gender violence. Studies show that physical violence exerted on the partner increases with alcohol consumption. This does not mean that all alcoholics exert violence on their partner, but it does increase the possibility of this happening.
2. Aggression and family conflicts
Drinking alcohol causes disinhibition, which can increase aggressive responses. In addition, regardless of the existence of physical violence, arguments between the couple would be frequent. Communication problems and failure to resolve conflicts would also contribute to these conflicts.
It is probable, as we will see in the next section, that the alcoholic person carries out the consumption alone, without his partner knowing. This will lead to appearance of lies and concealment behaviors that can trigger marital conflicts.
3. Distancing
As we noted in the introduction, alcoholics suffer significant stigmatization. Abusing alcohol is frowned upon by society. Probably, consumption is not going to be well seen by the couple, so the alcoholic will distance himself and try to find (more and more) moments alone to be able to consume.
4. Infidelity
Research has also associated infidelity towards a partner and alcohol consumption, explaining that consumption would be a risk factor for adulterous behaviors. So infidelity would be another of the possible characteristics of the behavior of an alcoholic with his partner. In case you find yourself in this situation, in this article we talk about how to act in the face of infidelity.
5. Jealousy
The celotype has had a special attention in the study of the alcoholic person in the context of the couple. There have even been authors who have proposed jealousy as one of the causes of alcoholism, although more recent studies suggest that it is not. However, there does seem to be a significant prevalence of celotypic behavior in alcoholics.
6. Economic insecurity
In this sense, the alcoholic person can lying to your partner about financial matters. Keep in mind that if the consumption is done in private, the expense will also be made without the couple knowing. The need to consume will also increase spending, which can be a source of conflict within the couple.
7. Anxiety and irritability
Keep in mind that between consumption and consumption it may appear abstinence syndromeTherefore, the alcoholic patient may be irritable and anxious in general and with her partner in particular.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
