It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been negatively affected by the alcohol addiction of another family member apparently do not grasp. It seems that by shielding the alcohol dependent individual with lies and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a condition that makes it easier for the alcoholic to carry on and go forward with his or her damaging, devastating existence.
In fact, rather than helping the alcohol dependent person and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have inadvertently helped negatively affect the alcohol dependent person’s drinking problem even further.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent person will continue drinking in a hazardous and abusive manner and suffer from diverse “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DUIs), employment difficulties, considerable financial problems, poor health, diminished mental functioning, and deteriorating relationships.
Relapses Can and Do Occur
According to the research findings and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has successfully gone through alcoholism rehabilitation and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this circumstance seems contradictory to logical thinking and looks so improbable that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has lived through the dreadfulness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol rehab and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, for sure, more than a few likely reasons for this.
It should be noted, however that alcohol addiction research that has focused on the enduring outcomes of alcoholism has shown that long after the alcohol addicted individual has discontinued his or her drinking, major transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted individual’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent 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.
A Requirement for An Essential Lifestyle Transformation
There are even more reasons why several recovering alcohol dependent individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcohol addicted person needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more effectively 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 time when the alcohol dependent individual was drinking irresponsibly; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can elicit memories that can trigger psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these situations may not only get in the way of long-term sobriety for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also lead to relapse and consequently work against one’s alcohol recovery.
The Good News: There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent person, family members can essentially cause unintended harm by enabling the unhealthy drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.
The substance abuse research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol rehab experience at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or overwhelmed when a relapse takes place.
Luckily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up treatment and education have resulted in more effective, long-term alcohol abuse and alcoholism rehab outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons achieve long lasting sobriety.
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