It is worthy of note to bring up something that family members who have been negatively affected by the alcohol dependency of another family member plainly do not grasp. It appears that by protecting the alcohol dependent individual with falsehoods and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to continue and proceed with his or her injurious, devastating way of living.
Undeniably, instead of helping the alcohol dependent person and themselves, these family members have basically become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the alcohol dependent individual’s drinking problem even further.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent individual will continue drinking in an excessive and hazardous manner and go through diverse “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 Likelihood of a Relapse is Real
According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent person has successfully undergone alcohol addiction rehabilitation and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this situation flies in the face of common sense and appears to be so far-fetched that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has lived through the awfulness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol counseling and in turn after attaining recovery. There are, of course, more than a few possible reasons for this.
It should be highlighted, nevertheless that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the enduring outcomes of alcohol dependency has shown that long after the alcohol addicted person has quit his or her drinking, fundamental changes in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol addicted person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the alterations that have taken place in the brain is to engage in drinking once again.
The Need for A Major Lifestyle Modification
There are other reasons why several recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with difficult 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 time when the alcohol addicted person was drinking irresponsibly; 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 alcoholic to engage in irresponsible drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these circumstances may not only get in the way of enduring sobriety for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also lead to relapse and consequently short-circuit one’s sobriety.
The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted individual, family members can in point of fact cause unplanned destruction by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcoholic.
The substance abuse research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol treatment go through at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get depressed or beleaguered when a relapse manifests itself.
Fortunately, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and education have resulted in more successful, long-term alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency therapeutic results, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals attain long standing sobriety.
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Tags: alcohol abuse, alcohol addiction, alcohol dependency, alcohol rehab, alcohol treatment, alcoholism, drinking problems, drug abuse, enabling, sobriety
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