Expert: Jurriaan Plesman, Nutritional Psychotherapist - 1/10/2008

Question
My current boyfriend is a bartender. We've been together for a year and half and it seems this job has changed him a little.  He will regularly have one or two shots during the daytime at work.  He comes home every night, drinks a little, (about six beers is average) and passes out.  He does this on weekdays but when we go out he drinks a lot more than six.  He is never bad tempered when drunk.  It bothers me that he drinks EVERY night.  When I mention it he gets defensive so I try not to mention it much.  I don't know if he is considered an alcoholic or if he's just a twenty two year old guy being a twenty two year old guy.  What do you think?

Answer
Hi Iarar22,

You may be in a difficult situation. If your husband is in denial about his drinking there is little we can do. He needs to want give up alcohol.

Most alcoholics have a physiological disease that can be treated by nutrition.

Please read:

Drug Addiction is a Nutritional Disorder at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/drug_addictions_nutritional_disorder.htm...

Why Alcoholics Drink? at
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/articles/WAD.html

Alcoholism (Addiction) is a Treatable Disease at:
http://curezone.com/upload/PDF/Articles/jurplesman/alcoholism_treatable.pdf

If your husband does see he has no problem, nothing can be done.

I hope you can resolve it.

You both may want to read:

Values Clarification course at:
http://www.hypoglycemia.asn.au/psychotherapy/values_clarification.html

to find out what values you have in common.
Ultimately, alcoholism is a destroyer of relationships.

_______________________________________________
Jurriaan Plesman BA (Psych) Post Grad Dip Clin Nutr
Editor of
The Hypoglycemic Health Association of Australia.
www.hypoglycemia.asn.au
Author of "Getting off the Hook"
Freely available at Google Book Search