Helping (an) alcoholic(s)

1. Acquire an approriate attitude. It is difficult to help someone who is given the notion that you despise him or her.

2. Develop a thorough knowledge of alcoholism's symptoms. You can't help a person with a disease until and unless you see that he or she has it.

3. Alcoholism is an addiction. Willpower is insufficient to its cure. Necessary, but insufficient; proper therapy is needed.

4. Confront the alcoholic with the fact of the disease. When doing so, suggest a possible solution. Alcoholics never get well unless given a chance. As in many things, if you come to the table with ideas for change, you are more likely to achieve that change. If you come to the table with resentment and accusation, you are likely to achieve resentment and defensiveness.

5. Help alcoholics accept responsibility for their actions.

6. Make use of available resources on alcoholism. It is a complex illness.

7. Never give up hope; to the extent possible, refrain from being discouraged. Even if the alcoholic does not recover now, so long as there is time left on the clock, it is not too late.

8. Alcoholism is a disease that affects all members of the family; all of them need treatment.