I’m worried sick my alcoholic son will drink himself to death

DEAR DEIDRE: I’VE lost my son to alcoholism and I’m worried sick he’s going to drink himself to death.

All I want is to help him, but no matter what I do or how hard I try, he’s not interested.

I’m 56, and my son is 32. He’s had a problematic relationship with alcohol for years, but it’s got progressively worse since his girlfriend broke up with him and he lost his job.

I think a part of him gave up and started to believe he had nothing left to live for.

Now he drinks from the moment he wakes up and is out for the count by midday. If he’s not ringing me up to rant down the phone, I’m getting phone calls from the local pubs to go and retrieve him.

On many occasions, my wife and I have tried to step in and get him professional help, but he gets so angry, we haven’t had any success. 

Just a couple of months ago, he was rushed to the hospital after nearly drinking himself to death.

We’re out of options, but the last thing we want is to give up on him.

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Deidre says: While it is painful to watch someone we love struggle, unfortunately, your son is responsible for his own behaviour, not you.

You can only encourage him to seek help, but you can’t force him to make a change - only he can do that.

Find support through Adfam, which helps families affected by drug and alcohol problems ().

My support pack Dealing With A Problem Drinker will also help.