It is fascinating to bring up something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not grasp. It seems to be that by protecting the alcohol addicted person with falsehoods and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to persist and advance with his or her unsafe, devastating daily life.
Clearly, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have basically become enablers who have involuntarily helped negatively affect the alcohol dependent person’s drinking problem even further.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent individual will continue drinking in an excessive and irresponsible manner and suffer from a variety of “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include diminished mental functioning, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), employment difficulties, and ill health.
The Chances of a Relapse are Real
According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol dependency issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent person has fruitfully undergone alcohol addiction treatment and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this predicament seems contradictory to common sense and sounds so unrealistic that it forces a person to wonder why anyone who has experienced the dejection of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, for sure, more than a few reasonable reasons for this.
It should be noted, nevertheless that alcohol dependency research that has focused on the enduring consequences of alcohol addiction has shown that long after the alcohol dependent person has stopped his or her drinking, critical transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the modifications that have taken place in the brain is to begin drinking again.
The Necessity for An Essential Lifestyle Modification
There are even more reasons why numerous recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcoholism research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more efficiently with taxing alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.
Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the days when the alcohol dependent person was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcoholic to engage in excessive drinking once again. Sadly, all of these situations may not only negate long standing alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and consequently short-circuit one’s alcohol recovery.
The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted individual, family members can essentially cause unplanned destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.
The alcohol abuse research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol rehab experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get defeated or overwhelmed when a relapse occurs.
Luckily, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and education have resulted in more productive, enduring alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction therapeutic outcomes, have helped reduce alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons accomplish enduring sobriety.
