It is interesting to bring up something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not understand. It appears that by shielding the alcohol addicted person with lies and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to continue and move forward with his or her damaging, destructive existence.
Without a doubt, rather than helping the alcoholic and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problems even further.
The Probability of a Relapse is Real
Another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has effectively undergone alcohol addiction therapy and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this situation flies in the face of common sense and seems so unbelievable that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has lived through the awfulness of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching recovery. There are, to be sure, numerous credible reasons for this.
It should be explained, however that alcoholism research that has focused on the long-term outcomes of alcoholism has shown that long after the alcohol addicted person has stopped his or her drinking, major changes in the way in which the alcoholic’s brain works are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have occurred in the brain is to start drinking once again.
The Need for A Crucial Lifestyle Change
There are other reasons why many recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted person needs new ways of acting and thinking in order to deal more competently with demanding alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.
Conditions such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcoholic was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can bring about memories that can set off psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in abusive drinking once again. Sadly, all of these circumstances may not only contradict long-term alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also lead to relapse and therefore work against one’s sobriety.
Summary
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent person, family members can in fact cause unintended harm by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcoholic.
The substance abuse research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol counseling experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get crestfallen or beleaguered when a relapse takes place.
Happily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and training have resulted in more productive, lasting alcohol abuse and alcoholism therapeutic results, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons achieve lasting alcohol recovery.
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