Not a cheery entry, this one.

So... I don't like talking about this, really, but I feel like writing it out might help me think about it a bit more clearly, and I'd like to know if anyone with any experience with this sort of thing has any advice.

I've mentioned this before, in my first blog entry, so some of you might already know, but I live with my father, who is an alcoholic. Usually, he's fine, as in... he stays off it and everything's hunky dory, but for as long as I've been aware, he's always had relapses too. He'll be okay for a few months or so, then he'll start drinking secretly, and within a few weeks it'll pull him down to the point of not being able to leave the house, go to work, or generally function at all. Once he's hit rock bottom, he'll eventually pull himself back out of it (over the course of about a week) then he'll be okay again, until the cycle inevitably repeats itself.

Now like I said, he's been doing this for as long as I've been aware of it, and apparently long before that, and he's always kind of managed to stumble along with it, but never actually find an effective way of dealing with it long term. I think the longest time between relapses was about a year.

Lately though, he's been getting worse; as in, like four or five weeks between relapses. Now I'm not certain why this is, but I think he's basically gotten stuck in a total rut with it, where he's not really stopping after he has to pick himself up. He fell during the Christmas holidays, but I thought everything was fine until this Sunday, when it turned out he'd gotten so drunk he couldn't remember what had happened the night before, so now I'm right back in it again. I had to take the day of work today to try and sober him up.

Anyway, the point of all this rambling is that I've got to take him into work tomorrow to discuss with his boss (who has been ridiculously supportive in all of this) what to do next. I believe now that he needs serious, professional help, and ideally, a session in rehab, but this would be very inconvenient for everyone, as he'd be out of work for a good few weeks, in all likelihood, so I'm not sure his boss will be willing or able to allow that. The other options would be some kind of support group, or short-session therapy, but he's been very resistant to anything like that.

I don't know what to do, honestly, and I've been almost as guilty as him in brushing the whole mess under the carpet for far too long, just because it's more convenient in the short term. But now... I think something has to change, significantly, or he's at risk of finally letting this thing ruin his life entirely.

I'm kind of just venting, to a certain degree, but if anyone does have any constructive advice, I'd really appreciate it.