Worker’s drinking cause for alarm

Dear Amy: My wife and I are in our mid-30s. We have been married for 10 years.

Within the past year she has begun to hang out with a new group of co-workers, who are in their 20s.

I have a problem when these co-workers regularly bounce from one relationship to the next, and talk about cheating with whoever the newest doctor or resident is at the hospital where they all work.

I also have a problem with my wife coming home drunk enough to pass out on the floor two or three days a week.

She thinks I’m unreasonable and doesn’t care to talk about any of this. Can you help? — Worried Spouse

Dear Worried: I’m going to assume that your wife’s bar-hopping has been interrupted by the pandemic.

Your wife doesn’t want to talk about this because, well, it’s human nature to avoid being confronted with your own risky behavior. And her behavior is very risky. Even without the factor raised by the pandemic, she is risking health, career, and marriage.

Drinking to unconsciousness is a very serious danger sign. Health care workers have extremely high paced and stressful jobs. A paper published by Mayo Clinic Proceedings noted that approximately 10 percent to 12 percent of physicians are estimated to have an addiction disorder.

These days, many health care workers are undoubtedly feeling even more stress, and yet, their patients need and deserve to be treated by people who show up for work healthy: with adequate sleep, not hung over, and not jonesing for their next after-work drink. You should do everything possible to intervene and get your wife some desperately needed help.