Updated with current information for 2022
College is an exploration in freedom, pushing boundaries, living on your own, having new experiences.
You are on your own. There’s no bedtime, curfew, no lock on the liquor cabinet. And yet, for some, it’s also a crash course on addiction. Alcoholism can rear its ugly head, even in its beginning stages. If you or the roommate you share your Ohio University housing with is always drunk, gets out of control on a regular basis, and is ruining your life in the process of wrecking theirs, take control or else you’ll spin out in their collateral devastation.
Set Ground Rules
Let them know if and when you are okay with drinking. Not every day is a weekend. You have to study, or you’ll flunk your classes. Let them know what days are okay for your party, and don’t let them walk over the times you need to be responsible.
Babysitting the Drunk
Hey, we’ve all been there. The Firewater catches up with a vengeance. But there’s a difference between an occasional bender that needs babysitting and being a full time caretaker every single weekend. If you find yourself needing to look after your drunk roommate every weekend because they are falling down the stairs, it’s time to have the talk. Establish some ground rules early on as well. If you’re not into cleaning up puke, draw a line before the first shot is poured.
Get Some Distance
If your roommate doesn’t deal with the problem, give yourself some breathing room. Find other things to do, other people to hang out with. If the problem is bad enough, you may need to find another apartment to rent. Say you have to study when they break out the bottle. No one can save a drunk but themselves. At the same time, AA has handy resources when it comes to helping addicts find help. Check them out.
Live Elsewhere
If your apartment is uptown or close to the bars, maybe it’s time to reconsider. The further away you are from that scene, the less likely, and less easy, it’ll be for a roommate to abuse the bottle.
Consider living somewhere further off-campus with a parking spot. That way you won’t spend any more time traveling than you normally would but can live comfortably knowing that alcoholism will be less likely to happen under your roof.