Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Hi OP, I was thinking about you today. How did it go?
So so. We had a family therapy session earlier this week where her drinking was discussed and her therapist urged her not to drink over the holidays. She still showed up at my house with wine, but managed to stick to two glasses without me saying anything. Not sure how this is going to work out in the long term- I am terribly worried for her, but ultimately she is an adult who makes her own decisions.
Thanks for letting us know what happened. Glad to hear that you were able to talk about this at a family therapy session. Of course you are worried for her. It's hard to watch a family member slowly destroy themselves through alcoholism, especially when you are so willing to help her find a healthier life. But as you said, she is an adult who makes her own decisions.
My brother just died of alcoholism. I had thought he had been sober for the last 10 years but he lived in a different state so I didn't realize that he was drinking again. Bro was also disabled and in chronic pain and also in despair at not being able to work. Once I realized he was drinking, I started attending Al-Anon meetings, which I had attended many years ago when another family member was drinking. I knew that I would find support at Al-Anon from other folks who had been in similar situations. At any rate, my brother's various illnesses caught up with him and he died in September. My Al-Anon group has been a great support for me during these difficult times. It's hard to not be able to convince your sibling to take the healthy road (especially when other family members are in recovery and it so obviously works for them) but that's part of the disease. You may want to look into attending an Al-Anon group or something like it to help you sort through how to react to your sister.
Good luck with this. I know you care deeply about your sister and her family. I hope things get better for her.