Alcohol Relapse, Enabling, and Alcohol Addiction
It is worthy of note to articulate something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not realize. It appears that by shielding the alcohol addicted individual with untruths and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to persist and press forward with his or her harmful, destructive style of life.
Clearly, rather than helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have basically become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the alcohol dependent individual’s drinking problem even more.
Relapses Can and Do Occur
Another key alcohol dependency issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has fruitfully gone through alcoholism rehabilitation and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this situation flies in the face of sound thinking and appears to be so implausible that it forces a person to speculate why anyone who has lived through the terror of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching recovery. There are, of course, numerous possible reasons for this.
It should be explained, on the other hand that alcoholism research that has focused on the long-term consequences of alcohol dependency has shown that long after the alcohol addicted individual has terminated his or her drinking, key alterations in the way in which the alcoholic’s brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have taken place in the brain is to begin drinking once again.
The Need for A Radical Lifestyle Transformation
There are even more reasons why several recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol dependent person needs new ways of acting and thinking in order to deal more efficiently with difficult 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 days when the alcohol dependent person was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—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-term alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also lead to relapse and consequently counteract one’s alcohol recovery.
Conclusion
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can in point of fact cause unintended harm by enabling the negative drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent individual.
The alcoholism research literature demonstrates the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol therapy experience at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or stressed out when a relapse occurs.
Luckily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up treatment and training have resulted in more successful, long-term alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction therapeutic results, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals accomplish long lasting alcohol recovery.
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