Alcohol Addiction, Alcohol Relapse, and Enabling

September 6th, 2009 by author

It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not grasp. It seems that by shielding the alcohol dependent individual with lies and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have basically created a situation that makes it easier for the alcoholic to persist and advance with his or her damaging, devastating existence.

Indeed, instead of helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the alcohol dependent personâ€™s drinking problem even more.

The Possibility of a Relapse is Real

Another key alcohol dependency issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent person has fruitfully undergone alcohol dependency rehabilitation and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this situation seems contradictory to sound thinking and appears to be so improbable that it forces one to speculate why anyone who has experienced the dreadfulness of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after attaining recovery. There are, of course, many credible reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, nevertheless that alcoholism research that has focused on the long standing outcomes of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol dependent person has quit his or her drinking, critical changes in the way in which the alcoholicâ€™s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the alterations that have taken place in the brain is to start drinking once again.

A Requirement for A Fundamental Lifestyle Modification

There are additional reasons why several recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcoholic needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more efficiently 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 days when the alcohol dependent person was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activitiesâ€”all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can trigger psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in abusive drinking once again. Sadly, all of these situations may not only negate long lasting alcohol recovery for the alcoholic but they can also result in relapse and consequently go against oneâ€™s alcohol recovery.

Conclusion

In an attempt to â€œprotectâ€ the family alcohol addicted person, family members can essentially cause unintentional harm by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcoholic.

The drug abuse research literature confirms the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol counseling go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get crestfallen or stressed out when a relapse takes place.

Fortunately, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and education have resulted in more productive, enduring alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency therapeutic outcomes, have helped reduce alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons reach long-term alcohol recovery.