It has been said that alcoholism is a family disease. Why? Alcoholism affects the entire family—everyone in the family needs to get help. If you have a family member who struggles with alcohol or drug addiction, is there a healthy way to respond to them? Yes, absolutely! You must understand family roles, and understand what your next step should be.

What Are the Family Roles?
In looking at families of addicts, there are different behavioral roles:

The Dependent: this is the alcoholic/addict in the family. He or she has the real problem.

The Chief Enabler: this role is typically taken up by a spouse [Read more…]