Al-Anon Family Groups Welcome Loved Ones of Problem Drinkers

Al-Anon Family Groups Welcome Loved Ones of Problem Drinkers to Local Al-Anon Meetings.

Alcoholism is devastating to all members of the family not just the drinker.
It is an especially appropriate realisation leading up to Dry July when thousands of Kiwis & Australians voluntarily pledge not to drink alcohol for one month in support of cancer charities.

Many people find giving up alcohol easy, but for some it is a struggle. For the problem drinkers in the community the mere thought of giving up alcohol seems impossible. Problem drinking can cause trouble for families, colleagues and friends. This is a timely reminder that if you love a problem drinker, there is a place to seek help.

“Family members may have watched someone they love turn into a stranger,” writes an addiction counsellor in "Al-Anon Faces Alcoholism 2015," the annual outreach magazine of Al-Anon Family Groups. “They ask, ‘How did this happen? Why didn’t we see it sooner? Are we somehow to blame? How do we make it stop?'”
Questions such as these leave family members confused, upset, and sometimes angry. They are often at a loss as to what they can do about someone else’s drinking.
The counsellor advises clients who are struggling with the stress caused by someone else’s drinking to visit Al-Anon Family Groups, where “family members learn that they are not alone, and that help is available.”

For every alcoholic it is estimated that up to ten people including friends, family, colleagues and others, are negatively affected by the persons drinking and behaviour. Al-Anon Family Groups are for families and friends who have been affected by the problem drinking of someone close to them.

Weekly Al-Anon Family Group meetings can now be found throughout NZ with almost 100 registered groups and hundreds of meetings that are held in almost every major city, assisting many New Zealand families.

Al-Anon Family Groups offers help and hope to those affected by a loved ones drinking. Visit their website to find out the days and times of a meeting near you: www.al-anon.org.nz

ENDS

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