Alcoholic son

[Susana]

My 38 year old alcoholic son lives with us now. I want to tell him not to come home anymore when he's been drinking...how can I do this? He has nowhere else to go but this is a last resort. He's been in rehab...tried everything. But we can't cope with the behaviour anymore

[vfxfarm]

You could suggest to him that he get a job as he might find that having responsibilities might help him stop drinking. 

[Janine-RO]

Hi @Susana , 

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having such a tough time with your son, seeing a loved one go through addiction must be incredibly distressing and frustrating. Addiction can be a really complex problem, and helping someone through that while also respecting your own boundaries and protecting yourself can be so challenging. ReachOut is aimed at young people aged 14-25 and our parents service is primarily for parents of young people aged 12-18 so we may not be able to provide the most relevant support for you- I did find some services that might be helpful, though: 

Family Drug Support Australia  offer 24/7 telephone support to families of people who are experiencing drug or alcohol addiction. 

Counselling online also offer confidential, free counselling, and they also have an online peer support forum that includes a space for friends and family of people who are experiencing addiction here., it looks like it's quite active and I'm sure there will be a lot of people there who've walked similar paths with their loved ones. 

Thinking of you, and I hope you find some of these services helpful

[Shkurka13]

I am very sorry to hear this, you should talk to him and tell him that his behavior is bothering you. Also, you should talk to him about the fact that alcohol can be harmful to his health, and he may need to avoid it. If you have tried rehabilitation centers and it didn't help, then try Daily Online Alcohol Recovery Meetings like those run by the Luckiest Club. Suppose he sees other alcoholics and listens to their stories of how they lost everything they had. In that case, it may change his thinking and attitude toward alcohol. I'm not sure, of course, that this will help, but it's worth trying, in my opinion. Good luck to you.