Need advice on writing an alcoholic character

[autoxys]

(This might belong in research instead, whoops)

So in my current project the MC's dad is not dealing well at all with the death of his wife, so now he's an alcoholic. You know, the classic setup. My problem is that I have somehow dodged ever knowing an alcoholic individual personally, so I have no idea how to write this.

I want to make sure I do my due diligence and write this sensitively as I know it's a heavy topic, but aside from reading general overviews of what alcoholism is on like drugabuse.com I really don't have any idea how to research the nitty gritty details, like the specifics of how it affects the parent/child family dynamic, or the person's behaviour around their substance of choice. I know that this character is an alcoholic, because that's what makes the most sense for him as a character and what I want to do with him, but I have no idea what that looks like or how that affects the daily lives of him and MC.

If y'all have any advice or resources or recommended reading you can point me towards I'd owe you my life.

 

[Hammer]

so now he's an alcoholic

That's not how it works. Alcoholism is, fundamentally, a disfunctional way of processing alcohol. Some heavy drinkers are alcoholic, some aren't. Some alcoholics are heavy drinkers, some aren't.

This very week I have attended the funeral of one of my greatest friends. He was a heavy and habitual drinker. He died of cirrhosis of the liver. wasn't alcoholic. Tomorrow I am seeing another good friend, who is.

I can't point you to any resources as such, but I think you need to get inside your character's head and decide how a love of booze is destroying him and distancing him from friends and family; it isn't quite the same as alcoholism.

 

[autoxys]

That's not how it works. Alcoholism is, fundamentally, a disfunctional way of processing alcohol. Some heavy drinkers are alcoholic, some aren't. Some alcoholics are heavy drinkers, some aren't.

Sorry, I was being a bit tongue in cheek there. I'm aware it's more complicated than that, but thank you for the correction.

I can't point you to any resources as such, but I think you need to get inside your character's head and decide how a love of booze is destroying him and distancing him from friends and family; it isn't quite the same as alcoholism.

Thanks for the advice, that's a good tip. His whole deal is the reliance on a mind altering substance (didn't have to be alcohol, that's just what was most easily available to him) to manage intense negative emotions.

 

[Naomasa298]

I've known, or known of two alcoholics. One was my friend's uncle. I didn't know him personally, but he thought nothing of screwing over and exploiting his relatives, by taking over his own (senile) father's house under the pretence of looking after him, and then refusing to vacate it after his father died. He eventually died by falling down the stairs and breaking his neck. This was last year.

My own uncle was also alcoholic, but I never saw him when he was drunk. When he wasn't, he seemed perfectly normal and pleasant enough to be around.

I think their behaviour when drunk depends on a lot on their own personalities, but may well be much more prone to reckless and irresponsible behaviour.

 

[Louanne Learning]

There is no cardboard cutout for the alcoholic. They are as varied as the rest of humanity. Some are happy drunks, and some are vile c*nts. Some can function well in all aspects of life, and some lose all capacity to fulfill their responsibilities. Some are loving, some are narcissistic.

It seems well within the realm of belief that a man devasted by the loss of his wife, especially if he was dependent on her, and she took very good care of him, would start to drink to fill the void made by her loss, if only to alter his consciousness.

He was a heavy and habitual drinker. He died of cirrhosis of the liver. wasn't alcoholic.

that sounds like an alcoholic to me. What makes you say he wasn't?

 

[Naja Noir]

I have no reading resources to recommend. That said, I grew up with a grandma and a dad who were both alcoholics. It killed my grandma and my dad is sober now, after it almost killed him, but he'll always be an alcoholic. My husband (divorce pending) became an alcoholic about 5 years ago. This one I experienced in real time, was there from its start to our bitter end. I had an alcoholic neighbor that tried her damndest to hide it, and an old roommate that died that couldn't give two craps that you knew he drank, because he was young and fine and would give you the shirt off of his back. He sadly died from drinking at 30 years old. Good damn guy too, it's a shame. So, I can say that I know alcoholism more than I'd care to admit. There are others, but these are the ones that have impacted me personally.

As others have said though, every alcoholic is different. How it starts, why it starts, and when. But, there are a lot of commonalities between them and one stands out to me more than any other. They all have/had a look of profound sadness in their eyes. You might not know it, upon first meeting them, but anyone who knew or got to know them would see it for what it was. Sometimes it was fleeting, but othertimes they'd wear that look for days.

Another thing I've noticed is that they always find something that the person calling them an alcoholic and advising them to get help did that either excused their drinking or was worse than it. They never have a problem and if they do, then you, (the one who cares) are their problem.

There is one movie I could recommend though, because it did a great job at capturing the mannerisms and despair that some, but not most mind you, alcoholics have, "Leaving Las Vegas."

Look up before and after pictures of alcoholics, see their gradual change. My husband was a very handsome man five years ago. Long gorgeous rock star hair, face of a god, my opinion of course. He's changed to say the least.

If you have any specific questions after doing some research, feel free to dm me. I might not respond immediately, but I will respond.

Remember one thing while writing. Alcoholism will affect more than just the person drinking, but all of those around them as well.

 

[Hammer]

that sounds like an alcoholic to me. What makes you say he wasn't?

Mainly because I knew him and know some alcoholics... An alcoholic isn't someone who starts drinking every day, an alcoholic is someone who can't stop.

paraphrased from a paper online (not attributed but believed to be factual)

"The human body cannot directly metabolise alcohol. The liver produces enzymes (alcohol dehydrogenase) which changes alcohol into a different carbohydrate, one called acetaldehyde (which gives you the buzz). A second enzyme (acetaldehyde dehydrogenase) changes this acetaldehyde into yet another carbohydrate one called acetate, which the body can metabolize into carbon dioxide and water. Some people's livers don't produce enough acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, therefore they build up a large amount of acetaldehyde in their system when they drink alcohol. When acetaldehyde is not removed from the bloodstream, it joins with several neurotransmitters to produce another chemical called an isoquinoline - an opium-like chemical naturally produced in the body which is highly addictive. This only happens to alcoholics, and not to the rest of the population. It is this isoquinoline to which alcoholics become addicted. What makes this process insidious is the fact that the isoquinoline turns off the brain's prefrontal cortex, the executive part of the brain that monitors actions to determine whether or not an action has consequences."