How do you deal with a post traumatic syndrome Uncle who is an alcoholic?

I'm wondering if any of you have encountered this or have had a similar issue. My Uncle has been an off and on drinker, he fought in Vietnam and never returned the same. He is cool when he's not drunk, but, once his repressed memories come about he goes in a binge of drinking. He is taking certain medications and stuff, but, I guess he's not taking it.



Me and my family have dealt with this several times, he'll stop for a while then go drinking again. We have helped him plenty of times, but, they say ';those can only help themselves'; still, the the thought of a loved one being out and about in a drunken state is something we all think about even when we try not to. My Uncle is in his 60's and can't be doing this, although I mean family can only do so much sometimes.



So, do any of you deal with this any success stories? Any way of helping people like this out? I mean, we've tried the ';shrink,'; medications, family interventions, even rehab. He was sober for 15 years, then as recently as 1 year he's been ';on and off'; drinking because of these repressed memories and other stuff that makes him feel bad.How do you deal with a post traumatic syndrome Uncle who is an alcoholic?
Take the focus off of him, or even the family, and place it on yourself. Vietnam was a long time ago. Your family has had plenty of time to pass from helping him out to a prolonged codependency cycle. I am guessing you grew up with it. You need to heal.



This detachment doesn't suggest going callous in regards to your uncle's pain. It means caring about yourself enough to heal and having the confidence that your uncle has the ability to make his own decisions.How do you deal with a post traumatic syndrome Uncle who is an alcoholic?
He's got to decide to change his life on his own since at this stage he probably already knows about the negative consequences of his drinking.



I would guess that he's reached the point where he just doesn't really care and there is nothing you guys can do about it unless you all can afford to physically institutionalize him for treatment.



We had an uncle like that and his son, my cousin, who is wealthy couldn't do anything to stop his dad from drinking no matter what he tried. This went on until they discovered my uncle had been dead in a house four days after a heart attack.



I do wish you guys well