Alcohol Addiction, Enabling, and Alcohol Relapse
It is remarkable to bring up something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not understand. It seems to be that by shielding the alcohol addicted person with untruths and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in essence created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to carry on and move forward with his or her hurtful, destructive style of life.
To be sure, instead of helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have inadvertently helped worsen the alcohol addicted individual’s drinking problem even more.
The Chances of a Relapse are Real
Another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has effectively gone through alcoholism rehab and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament flies in the face of commonsensical thinking and sounds so implausible that it forces an individual to wonder why anyone who has lived through the wretchedness of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after attaining sobriety. There are, for sure, numerous plausible reasons for this.
It should be noted, then again that alcohol addiction research that has centered on the enduring outcomes of alcohol addiction has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcoholic has halted his or her drinking, major changes in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’s brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the transformations that have occurred in the brain is to engage in drinking again.
The Need for A Fundamental Lifestyle Transformation
There are even more reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more effectively with challenging alcohol-related situations that will take place.
Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol addicted individual was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can bring about memories that can set off psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in excessive drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these circumstances may not only negate lasting sobriety for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also lead to relapse and thus work against one’s sobriety.
Conclusion
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can actually cause unintentional destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.
The alcoholism research literature confirms the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol treatment experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get depressed or stressed out when a relapse manifests itself.
Luckily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and education have resulted in more successful, enduring alcohol abuse and alcoholism rehab outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons achieve lasting sobriety.
