How do you confront someone about their drinking problem?

Answer 1

Don't confront someone with a drinking problem all by yourself. It's best to consult an intervention specialist and make a plan. You need to know some basic principles of intervention as well as to have support for yourself. You must know how to handle the alcoholic's resistance. At the very least take someone knowledgeable about Alcoholism or addiction with you and several people who care about the alcoholic and whom the alcoholic trusts. This is not a do-it-by-yourself job.

Answer 2

This is a very hard and sensitive question to answer. Mainly because when people have an addiction, it can be very hard to confront them with out them reacting in a negative way.
The most common way is to get together a group of friends and family who love and support the person to sit down with them and explain how their addiction is affecting not only themselves but every one around them, this is called an intervention.
They also need to be told that they are loved and supported and that the group will do everything that they can to help this person to over come their addictions. Addiction is such a sensitive matter and people who are addicted tend to be in some form of emotional turmoil at the time of the addiction. This can lead to them being quite aggressive and angry towrds those who love and support them. It is hard to help people with addiction but if you love a person, you will help them to get better as addiction is a form of illness.

Be very careful when confronting someone with an addiction. Before you have an intervention, it would be wise to contact a health professional who specialises in this area or call a drug addiction hotline for tips and pointers on 'what to say and how to say it'. It is also wise to speak with a drug counsellor.

Answer 3

If you are concerned that someone you known or care about might be an alcoholic, the first step is to approach them in a non-threatening way, sit them down and calmly express your concerns.