Family misadventure

maguenette

Jedi Master
I have no other place or person to share what I have experienced with my family.

Thank you for simply reading me.

This situation makes me angry and sad at the same time.

Yesterday, my father was brought to the hospital with the help of emergency services.

Why?

My father has a drinking problem. He started the evening with wine and a stronger alcoholic drink.

He was chatting with family members via his cell phone and the presence of my mother. During the evening, I was in my room listening to music while practicing my breathing.

At one point, I watched what they were doing. They were listening to a movie and everything seemed fine. I went back to my room to continue my breathing and to go to sleep afterward.

Suddenly, I felt the need to stop breathing. I came out of my room and my father was lying on the floor and my mother was talking to him. I had to help my mom take my dad to his room upstairs. He was in an advanced coma because of alcohol. He was unable to stand up, talk, shake our hands, etc. He was in an advanced coma because of alcohol.

My mother used to say that the drinking was over. I held my father in my arms. My mother would talk to him to keep him awake. We called my sister who is a nurse and she stays close. She checked his pulse, blood sugar, and pressure. Everything was okay. My dad would start crying at times. There was a lot of emotion. He never spoke. He just mumbled sounds to answer yes or no to our questions.

My sister chose to call the emergency service because my father was really weird and in a coma because of his excessive alcohol consumption.

So he was taken to the hospital. Honestly, a lot of this is due to the health measures. He can no longer see his family and grandchildren as he would like. I was really sad to see my father in this state.

My sister went with him to the emergency ward. My mother told me that she saw a black shadow present before my father went into his coma. She thought it was me but I was in my room.

There are a lot of problems between my father and mother. They just repress them instead of solving them. It's sad!

My father recovered after a few hours in the hospital. I had to pick up my father and sister from the hospital. My dad was uncomfortable and he was trying to turn this around by joke. I was really mad and I mentioned to my dad that it was really not funny.

The doctor told my dad that he had to learn from this.
For real? It's a big problem. Since the health measures, it's more common but it's never gone to coma.

I'm digesting this right now because I don't know what to think about the whole scene. Today I was angry. I was in my car and I wanted to cry but I was holding back my tears. I'm doing my best to keep my balance but it's hard at times.

I asked myself:

Why the presence of a black shadow?

My father's personality changes with alcohol. He can be the party guy or it's his mind predator that shows up.

I try to remain neutral and not go into negative emotions.

I am angry about this pandemic and for everything that is happening to humanity.

I still have the image of my father in my head. It was awful!

Marc.
 
I am sorry to hear about your fathers issue. Stay strong. :hug2: Only thing I can say is if you feel like crying privately, you should. Even JBP cried in front of camera. People understand the context. That may relieve some of your pain. I don’t have much experience with alcohol issues though.
 
Here's a true story from a close family experience.

Several years ago my wife's father had developed an alcohol problem, after their children flew the nest and it was only him and his wife left living alone. Large extended family otherwise, no problem with actual being alone and not socializing. He wasn't doing any wrong when drunk, just couldn't keep up with work anymore, became an alcoholic, had a couple of emergency hospitalizations, and even developed a form of diabetes.

All this escalated in a short interval of about half a year. His wife of 20+ years and my wife's mother became so mad at him that she even divorced him and became separated. But my wife was very attached to her father. She started having long conversations (from at distance) with her father. They talked about everything, childhood, memories, current events, even reading together or doing quizzes, but never touching on the drinking problem. Then eventually she convinced mother to start living together with father again, and the mother gave up half of her work and started to spend more time and do things together with the father. And since then, they have become like the best buddies, doing everything together, cooking together, traveling, watching TV shows or playing online games. There's no drinking problem anymore, even the the diabetes has receded to normal blood levels, last time I heard, and they're the best couple.

So, there's no magic cure from alcoholism back to normalcy, but this is one way that worked for someone I know through acceptance, patience, love and dedication from the close ones.
 
Sorry to hear about this episode with your dad, maguenette. It sounds sad and difficult. I guess the question now becomes how you might help him and your mother work through his problem. Would your dad be receptive to getting professional help do you think? Would your mom (and maybe your sister as well) be willing to sit him down with you at some point and address his problem with him? This experience is brand new of course and you are all probably still getting your bearings, but maybe in the not-too-distant future you can discuss what happened with your mom and with your sister, put your heads together, and discuss what could be said to him and possible courses of action you might take to help him. This assumes that there is some part of him that wants to be helped though.
 
Ennio,

Thank you for your solidarity. My sisters have eliminated alcohol from all family reunions for now. To answer your question, no my father is not open to professional help. I meditate on this and ask the help of the Divine Cosmic Spirit to do what is right in this situation.

Discussions between my father and mother are never constructive. I have mediated between them too many times. I am no longer able to do that. This is their responsibility. They are open spiritually but do not practice anything concrete. There are a lot of things that have been repressed between them since I was a child.

I haven't talked to him yet. I need to take a step back to see more clearly.
 
It sounds like you already have some good insights into the dynamics involved, and taking a step back until you've had the time to metabolize the situation for yourself seems like the right thing to do. I hope that, as things become clearer, the best solutions or approaches to take present themselves to you - but until that time - stay strong; and continue to write here as needed of course.
 
It seems like a complicated dynamic between your parents, idk that there is anything you can do when he has not asked for the help or where he doesn't see the problem or takes it seriously. We can't think for other people or see for other people.
Other than gaining more knowledge from the situation to better understand what is really going on and I think to see the patterns.
I'd say just to keep an eye on acting as an "enabling" influence, sometimes we do things unknowingly that enable behaviors or aspects in others, may be part of your parents' dynamic.
Like, we wouldn't be able to be who we are and do what we do if it wasn't for the status quo of things that permit it.
There is a difference between helping someone and enabling.
Hope you gain more insight on the situation
 
Hi maguenette, what a terrible situation, and of course you are angry and sad and the whole lot of negative emotions flooding over you and yes, alcohol abuse has a deep and destructive influence on anyone in the family unit. My father was also an alcoholic and had been i think even when (or before) i was born (he was already 39 then, 2nd marriage). As a kid i was totally ashamed to bring friends over to our house in the weekends as he would be there drunk. His drunkeness consisted of him being lethargic, asking 1000 times the same question and telling 1000 times the same stories. But i loved him so much and we developed a very strong bond. He was a very amiable man, of gentle nature, musically gifted and creative but as far as i remember there was always a heavy shadow hanging over him and when i got older and we had great conversations somehow he was never able to tell me what had happened to him that made him escape in the fuzzy world alcohol creates. None of us ever found out the exact reason but we do know it had to do with his family.

At a certain point when i was about 20 years old, a student living on my own, i realized that this was his choice, whatever the motivations behind it and he was allowed to make this choice, it was his life. If he wanted to go down this road of destruction, than i had to respect that choice. Free will for all. Is that enabling? Maybe, but that is how i felt and i have never regretted it. My mother at a certain point understandably gave up and divorced him after having tried truly everything and there were a few years i think when he went to AA and was able to abstain, but then he slipped and drank right up to his death, taking his story with him. What seemed to be clear from our situation was that if the person does not wish to stop drinking then there is no chance that he will. And from what i learned from our situation is that between life-partners, as your parents, this alcoholism forms a huge barrier that cannot be overcome when the addicted one has no desire to stop. Whatever one does or doesn't do.

Perhaps your father is able to share at one point what he feels are the reasons for his drinking and you can all take it from there, perhaps from his story the four of you can learn what it is he or perhaps all of you need to see, learn or even overcome. There are also alcohol counsellors out there. From the recommended psychology books i learned about the effects of parental behaviour in early infancy and learned what i could about my father and his mother, who was also addicted to alcohol and was quite lost in this world it seemed. Things seem to be connected.

Interestingly, about the black shadow, my mother told me that when she and my father came to say goodbye to my grandmother (as said also an alcoholic) when they went on their honeymoon, she saw a black arm lying next to my grandma and a few days later they got a call while honeymooning that grandma had died.

Anyway, my 2 cents, I really hope you will feel better soon, i think doing EE and crystal work does wonders. Take care.
 
Je suis bien désolée de la situation que vous subissez mais je ne peux vous apporter que mon soutien... Bon courage... LOVE

I am very sorry for the situation you are going through but I can only give you my support... Good luck... LOVE
 
Hi maguenette, I'm sorry for the heartache you are experiencing. My father was an alcoholic as well. I was estranged from him for many years through most of my childhood. When I reconnected with him he was married to a lovely woman and continued to drink until she died of cancer. He then married a third woman and, from what I hear, stopped drinking altogether until his death a few years later. It seems with some people there is a dynamic between certain people that triggers the drinking with some and not with others. I don't understand it, but the fallout in the family system is experienced by all. It's great that you have been able to distance yourself somewhat and not enable his behaviour. It is such a difficult thing to do when you love someone. Thank you for sharing here. I salute your courage and hope you find some peace through this and your family as well.
 
Hello Maguenette.
Your story is a bit similar to my parent's story, in regard to alcohol and non-effective discussions.
My father used to raise the voice (shout) when under alcohol influence, then whether go to sleep or go in the house's cave where he had his wood workshop (his second job was carpenter, first one was school teacher). He was a good person, respected in the village, many good human qualities. Fromwhat I can say now, looking at this story of my parents from the angle I reached so far, that was their lessons.

What helped me, and you can't imagine how much I blamed myself afterwards (of not having done it sooner), was to discuss with my father, one on one. This only really happened when he was in the hospital for his last 4 months of life. I went to see him almost all week-ends, and we had so profound discussions ... what i blamed myself was the almost 2 years when he was alone at home, my parents separeted ... and he was telling me he made food for 2, but i did not react many times, was too "busy in my life" to understand he invited me to be together, to discuss, and that he was in great need to see people, moreover his children (we are 3 brothers, one lives at 100+ km, myself and the other at less then 20km).
But what is done is done, and at least, we had these ... "necessary" discussions before he left, when at the hospital. We talked about any subject or question i had in mind, he recognized many of his errors, it was such a relief for me but mainly for him. I do not know if my 2 other brothers talked with him so deeply during his last days, I dont know but would bet that it's not knowing my brothers, they are quite ... conventional (and still are). But I can state now that these discussions with him, like "making the point", with "no mask", brought a great relief for him first, and also for me, but on my side, I saw it more like I knew him at this moment quite better than at any other time, that allowed me to love him even more. I experienced the "To love, you must know", and here, knowing better my father, who was a good "human mentor", helped me to love him even more.

Another sub-story about : a few years before my father passed, we had a family gathering, and as usual, my great brother who the most opposed my father said again something nasty to him. My father shouted and fled in his sanctum (his wood workshop). I remember i felt bad, and this was increasing. So a while after i woke up and wanted to talk to my father, we crossed in the house's hall, he was coming back. I instinctively took him in my arms. He had already a first step of the cancer and it was in remission. He did the same, pressed me strong and started to cry. This was the first and unique time of my life this happened, I also cried, and right now having tears remembering this (now) key moment of my life.

What to learn about... ? That's different for any, but what i could say is that .... yes, love is knowledge, and the more I knew on my father's life, the more time we spend together talking so i can better understand his situation, the more I loved him and I think the contrary happened too. So if there's one think that you could retain from this slice of (my) life and maybe pay attention to is : talk with your parents, in one on one, as many time as you can or feel. I'm not sure this would help in your situation, it's up to you to chose, maybe only one of them need this attention, both ? In my story, none of y parents was ... let's say a predator, and hopefully.

But you had a good idea to come to post here, by reading other experiences, support messages, encouragements, ideas, or sometimes simply "keywords" that can trigger other things ... the fact that you do something by coming here to speak about is a good move, this will help you.
 
I had a discussion with my father this morning. To share with him what I went through in this experience and my mother was there too. He didn't remember anything. We explained to him exactly how things happened. He had tears in his eyes. There is an awareness that seems to be maturing in him.

My mother didn't want to tell him what he had told her before he went into a coma. My mother told him not to take his last drink. He said, it's my life, you don't have to say anything if I have to die. I encouraged my mom to tell him so he would be aware of his actions and think about them.

My father is very stubborn. After finishing this discussion, my dad told my mom that she should have let him sleep and not have gone to the hospital.

He's an idiot because he didn't see the state he was in, but we did.
So I told my mom she did the right thing.

For my part, I decided to distance myself from my family because it is no longer healthy for me. I want to move forward.

I stay strong.

Everything is a lesson. I am learning from this experience. I continue to do my breathing, my prayers, working with my crystals, doing my research. For now, I will go to commune with nature. It is always helping me.
 
Hello Magunette, I am very sorry and saddened that you and your family have to experience this. I know from my own experience the dynamics that alcohol addiction can cause in a family. What conflicts one experiences within oneself. Distance is the only way out in this case. At least that is my experience. My ex-boyfriend was an alcoholic and tyrannised us all. He was like a different person and I thought for 3 years that we could somehow manage it, therapy, moving, talking, love.... many more... nothing was enough.

We always tried to please him so that he would have no reason to drink. But there was always one... When he became violent, unfortunately also against my daughter, I ran away with her and broke off contact completely. It wasn't easy, but it was the only way... And I wish you that you will manage to deal with it. When they are sober everything is always different and because you love them it is difficult to keep the distance. You still have a spark of hope. But it's a game with fire.

It was the worst time in my life because in the end I wasn't myself anymore and it took me a lot of hard work to get out of that quagmire. I can't tell if it's a situation like that in your case and if it happens again and again, but maybe it helps you in some way to hear that you're not alone.

You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped.... He has to want it himself.... A big hug for you and your family :hug2:
 
My mother didn't want to tell him what he had told her before he went into a coma. My mother told him not to take his last drink. He said, it's my life, you don't have to say anything if I have to die. I encouraged my mom to tell him so he would be aware of his actions and think about them.

When I read your first post, I realised that the only thing I could tell you that is of any use is for you to try to understand what it is that your father is asking for through his actions. That, in my opinion, the cause of an addiction like this is sometimes that the person does not want to acknowledge or be a part of reality anymore. By abusing alcohol, the person is sending a message to the universe that they do not want to experience the full range of objective reality, and that they want to avoid it and black it out instead. And that, ultimately, most people know that continuous, heavy use of alcohol often leads to death; and that it is oblivion, death, an escape from ‘BEing’ that the alcoholic is seeking.

I do think there are types of exceptions to this explanation; like falling into alcoholism at an early age and becoming truly physically addicted to it, but I think this is more rare, and it’s generally to do with telling the universe that one does not enjoy being alive, one does not agree with having to suffer, one would rather become a “dream in the past”.

And so, what’s left to us, is to choose how much we’ll involve ourselves in that person’s self-inflicted annihilation.

The reason I didn’t reply with all that after your first post is because everyone’s lessons are different, and no one can tell you how much you‘re meant to get involved in your father’s problem. I mean, if it was a friend or acquaintance, the idea of cutting ties can be more appropriate and easier to achieve. But the fact that it’s your father, who you live with, and together with your mother, form a long and deep emotional and karmic bond, makes it more difficult.

So far, I think you’ve done everything right, telling your father how you feel. For him, no level of negative consequence may be enough to override the pleasure of being drunk. I think some form of therapy with regards to exploration of his emotions, thought-triggered behaviours etc., is the only way he’ll be able to stop drinking, but obviously, that all depends on if he wants to.

I think I would try to have a discussion about whether he wants to quit drinking or not. And I would put it in terms of, “If you want to stop, then that’s great, and together we will do all we can. But understand, it’s okay to think and to feel and to really admit that you don’t want to stop; that you love being drunk. But you have to understand that there will be consequences for us as a family, because I do not want to go through something like this ever again.”

There may be holes, contradictions or things that I’m getting wrong because this is a personal subject for me and so I might be projecting. So don’t take what I’m saying as what’s best for your situation, or as an accurate assessment of it. What I’ve said might be totally inappropriate, but I just wanted to tell you how your situation appears to me.

Best wishes.
 
I do think there are types of exceptions to this explanation; like falling into alcoholism at an early age and becoming truly physically addicted to it, but I think this is more rare, and it’s generally to do with telling the universe that one does not enjoy being alive, one does not agree with having to suffer, one would rather become a “dream in the past”.
I think that is exactly the point. I had the same impression in our case... There are things in people's heads that they can't stand and for some reason the only way out is alcohol. A really great answer, thank you very much @T.C.

I think I would try to have a discussion about whether he wants to quit drinking or not. And I would put it in terms of, “If you want to stop, then that’s great, and together we will do all we can. But understand, it’s okay to think and to feel and to really admit that you don’t want to stop; that you love being drunk. But you have to understand that there will be consequences for us as a family, because I do not want to go through something like this ever again.”
That's a really good idea, but I think you have to find a suitable moment to really reach the person.

And I wanted to say, of course it's a different thing whether it's a friend or your own father. It's a profound experience either way and I really hope you can reach your father in the right place. Because I can imagine that letting go here is very, very difficult, if not impossible. And even if you can let go as a "child", there is still the mother who lives with the father. I've been thinking about it all day today.

Maguenette, Your story really triggered me and showed me what I had to learn painfully. But is it enough to help someone in a similar situation? Is it even possible to help? I can't say, because it's really different when you're in the middle of it. At the time, everything seemed hopeless to me, even though it wasn't. My biggest help was my friends at that time.

I hope you and your familiy will get through this together. You are in my thoughts...


:hug2:
 
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