It is remarkable to bring up something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member evidently do not understand. It seems to be that by shielding the alcohol addicted person with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in essence created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to continue and advance with his or her damaging, destructive lifestyle.
Clearly, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have unintentionally helped deteriorate the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problem even more.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent individual will continue drinking in an abusive manner and suffer from different “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include considerable financial problems, poor health, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DUIs), employment difficulties, diminished mental functioning, and deteriorating relationships.
The Probability of a Relapse is Real
According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcohol dependency issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent individual has effectively gone through alcohol addiction rehabilitation and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this situation seems contradictory to sound thinking and appears to be so doubtful that it forces one to speculate why anyone who has experienced the horrors of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving recovery. There are, to be sure, many likely reasons for this.
It should be highlighted, nevertheless that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the long-term consequences of alcoholism has revealed that long after the alcoholic has halted his or her drinking, key transformations in the way in which the alcoholic’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 transformations that have taken place in the brain is to engage in drinking again.
A Requirement for An Important Lifestyle Modification
There are additional reasons why more than a few recovering alcohol dependent individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. In accordance to the alcoholism research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcoholic needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with difficult alcohol-related situations 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 addicted person was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring about memories that can set off psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in irresponsible drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these circumstances may not only contradict long standing sobriety for the alcoholic but they can also lead to relapse and as a result short-circuit one’s sobriety.
The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for a Lasting Recovery
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can in fact cause inadvertent destruction by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.
The alcohol abuse research literature highlights the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol rehabilitation go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or overwhelmed when a relapse occurs.
Fortunately, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and education have resulted in more successful, long standing alcohol abuse and alcoholism treatment results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent individuals accomplish lasting alcohol recovery.
