It is fascinating to mention something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member plainly do not comprehend. It seems to be that by protecting the alcohol addicted person with lies and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent individual to persevere and go forward with his or her negative, detrimental way of living.
In fact, instead of helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have inadvertently helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted individual’s drinking problem even more.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent individual will continue drinking in an excessive and abusive manner and go through a range of “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include diminished mental functioning, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), employment difficulties, and ill health.
Relapses Can and Do Happen
According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol dependency issue has to do with alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has successfully gone through alcohol dependency rehab and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance seems contradictory to sound thinking and looks so implausible that it forces a person to speculate why anyone who has gone through the misery of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol rehabilitation and in turn after attaining recovery. There are, of course, numerous plausible reasons for this.
It should be mentioned, however that alcoholism research that has centered on the long-term outcomes of alcoholism has revealed that long after the alcohol dependent person has terminated 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 person has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have occurred in the brain is to begin drinking again.
The Need for A Significant Lifestyle Modification
There are additional reasons why numerous recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol addicted person needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more competently with challenging alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.
Situations such as returning to the same alcohol addictive environment 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 forth memories that can set off psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in abusive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only work against enduring sobriety for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also result in relapse and thus go against one’s alcohol recovery.
The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for Lasting Sobriety
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent individual, family members can in fact cause unintentional damage by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent individual.
The addiction research literature validates the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol therapy experience at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get down in the dumps or stressed out when a relapse takes place.
Happily, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and training have resulted in more effective, enduring alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction treatment outcomes, have helped reduce alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons reach long-term sobriety.
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