MY PARENT IS DRINKING TOO MUCH

One of the most difficult situations to be in is that of a young person growing up with a parent who gets drunk too often.

Your whole life gets affected and you don't know what to do. Things happen like:

• Meals aren't prepared for you.  Your clothes are not washed ready for you to use.
  
• You are so ashamed that you stop bringing your friends home.
  
• You  may start not coming home until late, or stay away as much as you can.
  
• There may be arguments or fights between your parents.

All this is very hard to bear, especially if you are trying to study.

One of the first things to realise is that it is not your fault. You are not the cause of the drinking.

Your parent is in the grip of a mental disease and has lost control of his or her life. Everything else sinks into the background for them: the only thing that matters is having the next drink.

Very likely he or she loves you very much - though that may seem hard to accept - but the grip of alcohol is stronger than love at this stage.

Your parent is not a evil person: they are really sick and need help themselves. But it may take them a long time to reach out for help. Meanwhile you can learn to live despite the drinking going on.

If you have no sober parent, or grandparent that may come to look after you, you certainly should look for help. READ the HELP PAGES over on the right and find out where you can get help.

You  may have to learn to get your own meals and maybe do some washing for yourself: not such a bad thing to learn to be self reliant. Maybe your school or college counsellor may be able to tell you where to get some help in coping with the situation at home.