Alcohol Relapse and When Dishonesty is a Form of Enabling

It is worthy of note to articulate something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not understand. It appears that by protecting the alcoholic with lies and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in effect created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to persevere and go forward with his or her unsafe, detrimental daily life.

Without a doubt, rather than helping the alcohol dependent person and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have unintentionally helped worsen the alcohol addicted individual’s drinking problem even further.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent person will continue drinking in an excessive and abusive manner and go through a range of “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), diminished mental functioning, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, ill health, and employment difficulties.

The Probability of a Relapse is Real

According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcohol addiction issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has successfully gone through alcoholism rehabilitation and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance seems contradictory to rational thinking and seems so unrealistic that it forces a person to question why anyone who has experienced the dejection of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol rehab and in turn after attaining sobriety. There are, for sure, numerous conceivable reasons for this.

It should be pointed out, however that alcohol addiction research that has centered on the long-term outcomes of alcohol addiction has shown that long after the alcohol dependent person has discontinued his or her drinking, major alterations in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain works are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol addicted individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the changes that have come about in the brain is to start drinking again.

The Necessity for An Important Lifestyle Transformation

There are additional reasons why quite a few recovering alcohol addicted persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol dependent person needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more successfully with difficult alcohol-related situations 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 time when the alcohol dependent individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological anxiety or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these circumstances may not only work against long standing sobriety for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and as a result circumvent one’s sobriety.

The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for Lasting Sobriety

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can in point of fact cause unintentional destruction by enabling the unhealthy drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The drug abuse research literature highlights the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol therapy 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 beleaguered when a relapse manifests itself.

Happily, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and training have resulted in more productive, enduring alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction treatment results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals reach long standing sobriety.

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Tagged with: alcohol abuse • alcohol addiction • alcohol dependency • alcohol rehab • alcohol treatment • alcoholism • drinking problems • enabling • mental health • self improvement • sobriety

Filed under: Health Issues

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