Wives of Alcoholics Community Group
A forum of healing and help for wives of alcoholics.
2soft4ah
My AH has drank for the 23 years we have been together, we've been married 20 in March. He's had 8 DUI's. In that timeframe. Our children are 14 and 6. He started drinking whiskey in 2011, before that it was always just beer, but he has always drank in excess. In 2012 he left me for another woman whom he had been having an affair with for 6 months. He was gone for 1 month when he got a DUI while working, he was fired, a month later he got another DUI, was made to enter a rehab facility after sitting in jail for two weeks. He started DT"s at the rehab facility and had to be taken to a mental health facility to monitor his withdraws. He was in the second rehab when he started wanting to come home, all the while he was still seeing the other woman. He ended up with another DUI after a weekend home, and trying to chase down the other woman, plus a slew of other charges. We got back together I helped him thru 6 months of rehab, all the while paying our mortgage and other bills. He came out of rehab still drinking but it was ok (he said) he just wouldn't drink whiskey). About a year later he started drinking Whiskey again. Everything has gone down hill since. He drinks constantly, he drinks when he wakes up after I go to work, he drinks at work, all thru the day until he goes to bed or passes out whichever happens first. After this last DUI I told him booze or your family. He went to rehab three weeks ago, got kicked out for drinking after the 2nd week. He was home one day before he started drinking again. I told him to leave. So now he is living down the street in our camper. He has electricity but no water, he has not left the camper for more than an hour all week to my knowledge, he has'nt gone to work or anything. He blames his family for turning their back on him but he will not get help. He text me saying I love you I want to come home, why cant I come home. I told him because he wouldnt quit drinking and he said he might if I would treat him better. I just dont know what to do. He's going to drink himself to death if he stays in that camper, but thats also what he was doing at home in front of our children. How do I deal with the guilt of not letting him come home? I should probably also mention I caught him fbing another girl for sex and nude pics, I confronted him and he said he was sorry and wouldn't do it again, this was about 10 months ago. So he is drinking and trying to cheat.
The best thing I did for me and for my kids (who by the way are all grown) was to start seeing a therapist. Somehow when you have a person who is objective and can see through the crap - and is able to guide you through the process makes it so much easier.
Just remember that all those excuses and reasons he's given you for his alcoholic and cheating ways are just manipulation to redirect you from the real cause of his bad behavior, himself. Only he can own that.
Hugs!