Alcohol Relapse, Enabling, and Alcohol Dependency

It is interesting to bring up something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not grasp. It seems to be that by shielding the alcoholic with falsehoods and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in effect created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to continue and go forward with his or her hurtful, destructive way of living.

In fact, instead of helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have involuntarily helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problem even further.

Relapses Can and Do Occur From Time to Time

Another key alcohol addiction issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent person has fruitfully gone through alcoholism therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this predicament flies in the face of rational thinking and sounds so doubtful that it forces an individual to speculate why anyone who has gone through the dreadfulness of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving sobriety. There are, of course, many conceivable reasons for this.

It should be explained, nevertheless that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the long standing outcomes of alcohol dependency has revealed that long after the alcohol dependent individual has stopped his or her drinking, significant changes in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have taken place in the brain is to start drinking again.

A Requirement for A Significant Lifestyle Transformation

There are other reasons why numerous recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcoholism research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of acting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with demanding alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Issues such as returning to the same alcohol addictive atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol addicted individual was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring about memories that can trigger psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Sadly, all of these circumstances may not only get in the way of lasting sobriety for the alcohol addicted person but they can also lead to relapse and thus go against one’s alcohol recovery.

Conclusion

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can essentially cause inadvertent damage by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.

The addiction research literature validates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol therapy experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get defeated or stressed out when a relapse happens.

Luckily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and training have resulted in more effective, long lasting alcohol abuse and alcoholism therapeutic results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals accomplish long-term alcohol recovery.

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