Alcohol Dependency, Alcohol Relapse, and Enabling
August 23rd, 2009
It is interesting to point out something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member evidently do not grasp. It seems that by shielding the alcohol addicted individual with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to continue and advance with his or her damaging, devastating existence.
Without a doubt, instead of helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have unintentionally helped deteriorate the alcoholic’s drinking problem even further.
Relapses Can and Do Happen
Another key alcohol dependency issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has fruitfully gone through alcohol dependency therapy and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this circumstance seems contradictory to rational thinking and sounds so implausible that it forces a person to question why anyone who has gone through the terror of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching recovery. There are, without a doubt, numerous conceivable reasons for this.
It should be pointed out, however that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the long standing consequences of alcoholism has revealed that long after the alcohol addicted person has terminated his or her drinking, significant changes in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol addicted individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the transformations that have come about in the brain is to engage in drinking once again.
The Necessity for A Crucial Lifestyle Transformation
There are other reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcohol addicted persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more competently with taxing alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.
Circumstances 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 person was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring about memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcoholic to engage in irresponsible drinking once again. Sadly, all of these situations may not only negate long lasting sobriety for the alcoholic but they can also result in relapse and thus negate one’s alcohol recovery.
Summary
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can actually cause unplanned harm by enabling the negative drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.
The alcoholism research literature highlights the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol therapy go through at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get down in the dumps or stressed out when a relapse happens.
Fortunately, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and education have resulted in more effective, ongoing alcohol abuse and alcoholism rehab results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals attain long lasting alcohol recovery.
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