How is the behavior of an alcoholic with his partner

Alcohol is a substance that socially has a good acceptance. We provide champagne, we are left with friends to have beer or celebrate great news and events opening a good wine.

On the other hand, there is a stigma about alcoholic people. In this case, we do not refer 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 the stigmatization and rejection of others, other important problems such as those that occur within the couple can appear at the social level. Continue 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 alcholic, if an alcoholic can love, why alcoholics lie, why an alcóholico when he drinks looks like another person and the consequences of living with an alcoholic.

1. Alcohol and its effects
2. Diagnosis of alcoholism
3. Alcoholic profile with his partner: 7 characteristics

Alcohol and its effects

¿What happens in an alcoholic? Alcohol is a substance that has a direct affectation on the nervous system of the person who consumes it. The consequences of consuming alcohol are not only physical, but also psychological and social.

Physical consequences of alcohol

• Vascular problems such as arrhythmias, hypertension or infarction.
• 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.
• Anxiety symptoms.
• In severe cases delusions and/or hallucinations may appear.
• 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 couple problems.

Diagnosis of alcoholism

There are several alcohol -associated disorders collected in the main diagnostic classifications and that are presented below.

DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association)^[1]

This classification recognizes four types of related disorders:

• Alcohol consumption disorder.
• Alcohol poisoning.
• Alcohol abstinence.
• Disorder related to the un specified alcohol: the criteria for the previous paintings are not met but there are symptoms, clinically significant discomfort and/or deterioration in areas such as social or labor.

CIE-11 (World Health Organization)^[2]

• Episode of harmful alcohol consumption.
• Harmful pattern of alcohol consumption.
• Alcohol dependence.
• Alcohol poisoning.
• Alcohol abstinence syndrome.
• Delirium induced by alcohol consumption.
• Psychotic disorder induced by alcohol consumption.
• Others: Other disorders induced by alcohol consumption, other specified disorders due to alcohol consumption and disorders due to alcohol consumption (without specification).

As we see, alcohol consumption is heterogeneous: we can drink a lot but rarely, we can need to drink every day, we can present symptoms when stop consuming, etc. Therefore, the profile of alcohol consumers can be very different. In this article we talk about the types of alcoholism.

¿What do we understand by alcoholic person? Usually We associate alcoholism for dependence, addiction, the need to consume. However, we cannot ignore the rest of the related paintings that can also cause, also, social, work and mental health problems.

Alcoholic profile with his partner: 7 characteristics

To talk about the behavior of an alcoholic as a couple is to group a series of very heterogeneous people. This implies that the type of behavior will be very diverse.

However, there seems to be behaviors that have received more attention for the frequency with which they appear or their magnitude. Based on Roberts's guide, L.J. and McCrady, B.S. (2003)^[3], We expose them below and tell you how an alcoholic behaves with his partner.

1. Violence

The aggressive behavior within the couple is one of the characteristics of the alcoholic's profile with their most studied partner. This behavior acquires even more importance in the context of gender violence. Studies show that Physical violence exerted on the couple increases with alcohol consumption. This does not mean that all alcoholics exercise violence over their partner, but the possibility of this happens increases.

2. Aggression and family conflicts

Alcohol consumption causes disinhibition, which can increase aggressive responses. In addition, regardless of the existence of physical violence, discussions between the couple would be frequent. Communication problems and failure when resolving conflicts would also contribute to these conflicts appear.

It is likely, as we will see in the following section, that the alcoholic person carries out solo consumption, without their partner finding out. This will lead to the appearance of lies and concealment behaviors that can trigger marital conflicts.

3. Distancing

As we have pointed out in the introduction, alcoholic people suffer important stigmatization. Abusing alcohol is not well seen by society. Probably, consumption will not be well seen by the couple, so the alcoholic will distance himself and try to look for (increasingly) moments alone to be able to consume.

4. Infidelity

Research has also associated infidelity towards the couple and alcohol consumption, explaining that consumption would be a risk factor for adultere behaviors. So infidelity would be another possible characteristics of an alcoholic behavior with his partner. In case you are in this situation, in this article we talk about how to act in infidelity.

5. Jealousy

Celotypy has had 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 so. However, there seems to be an important prevalence of celotypal behavior in alcoholic people.

6. Economic insecurity

In this sense, the alcoholic person can Lying your partner regarding economic issues. Keep in mind that if consumption occurs in private, the expense will also be done without the couple finding out. 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 may appear abstinence syndrome, So the alcoholic patient can be irritable and anxious in general and with his particular partner.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to How is the behavior of an alcoholic with his partner, We recommend that you enter our category of addictions.

1. American Psychiatric Association (2014). DSM-5. DSM-5-Breek Diagnostic Criteria Consultation Guide. Madrid: Pan American Medical Editorial.
2. World Health Organization (WHO) (2018) International disease classification, 11.A review. Retrieved from https: // icd.quien.int/es
3. Roberts, l.J. and McCrady, B.S. (2003). Alcohol Problems in Intimate Relationships: Identification and Intervention. A Guide for Marriage and Family Therapists. Retrieved from https: // pubs.Niaaa.NIH.GOV/publications/niaaa-guide/niaaa_aamf_final.PDF