Families & Friends Of Addicts Support Group

Addiction affects more than just the individual. This community is dedicated to the families and friends of individuals suffering from any form of addiction. Mental health professionals are increasingly considering alcoholism and addiction as diseases that flourish in and are enabled by family systems. Family members react to the addicted person with particular behavioral...

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dry drunk?

mom-of-3
mom-of-3
Does anyone know anything about this or should I say experienced it with themselves or with a loved one? My son is, as far as I can tell or his counselors, clean and not using. The problem is he has any of the behaviors of a user and this is when it confuses me.

True - there are ways around it - hide drug usage but I honestly don't think he is. My gut tells me mainly because of his reactions to situations. He has control of his emotions.

The behaviors he is exhibiting now are lack of motivation - (failing in school), and not following any house rules. He could have depression - I don't know.

What or how is a "dry drunk" get treated?
mgs1
mgs1
Hopefully he is working the program. Yes, he might be depressed.
Addicts generally self-medicate. They use drugs to numb their emotions. When they aren't using they may become depressed.
I would suggest he seek counseling.
6bagsfull
6bagsfull
A dry drunk is someone who has fallen back into old behaviours, minus the drinking or using. The whole idea of a program is to give us the tools we need to live a better life. We must work our program! He might also be having depression but the program will help him know how to deal with his depression. Does he have a sponsor? If not, he needs one.
mom-of-3
mom-of-3
He has a sponsor but doesn't choose to utilize him. He also hangs out with some drug using friends.

And I actually did have an appointment set up for him to see a counselor but had to cancel because he forgot about it. I know he wants to see one because he said so.

It's just frustrating to see him failing in school AGAIN. He did this before when he was using heavily. This time, however, I don't think he is using yet it is the same thing.
deleted_user
deleted_user
i got pissed when my wife told my i was a "dry drunk." i thought just because i wasn't using of drinking, everything is ok. 6bagsfull is right, it's going back into old behaviors without the drugs or alcohol. in my case, depression sunk back in and i was starting to behave like a grouch. my wife noticed it before me and suggested i talk to my sponsor. in all of my sobriety, i never had to talk to my sponsor. again, i thought i was ok because i was sober. all of my little problems snowballed into huge problems and i didn't know how to deal with it. it is a definate red flag to relapse. i wound up really talking to my sponsor for the first time about 3 weeks ago and he straightened me out. he suggested i get back to working the program and attending meetings as well as reading the big book (AA). suggest that to your son before he decides to relapse. take care.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Alcohol does not cause ALL of a person's deficiency. It's certainly a catalyst, though. You bring the person you are to the addiction, and drugs/alcohol masks your culpability to faults you originally had.

Kicking the booze is easy. It's the recovery that's hard.