Dishonesty, Enabling, and Alcohol Relapse
It is fascinating to point out something that family members who have been negatively affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not understand. It seems to be that by protecting the alcohol dependent individual with falsehoods and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in actual fact created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted individual to continue and go forward with his or her injurious, destructive way of living.
To be sure, rather than helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have involuntarily helped negatively affect the alcohol dependent person’s drinking problem even more.
The Possibility of a Relapse is Real
Another key alcohol dependency issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has successfully undergone alcoholism therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament seems contradictory to sound thinking and appears to be so far-fetched that it forces one to question why anyone who has lived through the terror of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving sobriety. There are, without a doubt, numerous rational reasons for this.
It should be mentioned, then again that alcohol addiction research that has focused on the lasting consequences of alcohol addiction has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol dependent person has quit his or her drinking, significant transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’s brain operates are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the modifications that have occurred in the brain is to engage in drinking once again.
The Necessity for A Crucial Lifestyle Modification
There are additional reasons why quite a few recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According 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 challenging alcohol-related situations that will take place.
Circumstances 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 alcohol dependent individual was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these conditions can bring forth memories that can trigger psychological anxiety or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in excessive drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these situations may not only get in the way of long lasting alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and as a result go against one’s sobriety.
Summary
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can in fact cause inadvertent destruction by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.
The substance abuse research literature validates the fact that most people who effectively 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 dejected or stressed out when a relapse manifests itself.
Fortunately, involvement in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and training have resulted in more successful, ongoing alcohol abuse and alcoholism rehab outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted persons reach ongoing alcohol recovery.
Mail this post