Alcohol Relapse and When Helping the Alcoholic Becomes Risky
It is worthy of note to articulate something that family members who have been negatively affected by the alcohol addiction of another family member plainly do not grasp. It seems that by protecting the alcohol addicted individual with falsehoods and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have basically created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to persist and proceed with his or her negative, destructive style of life.
Undeniably, rather than helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have unintentionally helped worsen the alcohol addicted individual’s drinking problem even more.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcoholic will continue drinking in an irresponsible and excessive manner and go through different “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include employment difficulties, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), ill health, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, and diminished mental functioning.
Relapses Can and Do Happen
According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has successfully gone through alcohol addiction therapy and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this predicament flies in the face of commonsensical thinking and looks so implausible that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has experienced the misery of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol rehab and in turn after attaining recovery. There are, of course, more than a few likely reasons for this.
It should be mentioned, on the other hand that alcoholism research that has focused on the lasting consequences of alcoholism has shown that long after the alcoholic has halted his or her drinking, key transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent individual’s brain operates are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have come about in the brain is to begin drinking again.
The Need for A Critical Lifestyle Change
There are other reasons why many recovering alcohol dependent individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted person needs new ways of responding and thinking in order to deal more competently with tough alcohol-related situations that will take place.
Issues 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 alcoholic was drinking irresponsibly; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can bring about memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in abusive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only contradict long lasting alcohol recovery for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also result in relapse and therefore go against one’s alcohol recovery.
The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted individual, family members can essentially cause inadvertent damage by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.
The addiction research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol counseling go through at least one relapse. Alcohol dependent persons and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or stressed out when a relapse occurs.
Luckily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and training have resulted in more successful, long-term alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction therapeutic outcomes, have helped reduce alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons reach long-term alcohol recovery.