It is fascinating to articulate something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member apparently do not comprehend. It seems to be that by shielding the alcohol addicted individual with untruths and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent individual to continue and move forward with his or her negative, destructive daily life.

In fact, instead of helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have unintentionally helped worsen the alcoholic’s drinking problem even more.

Relapses Can and Do Transpire

Another key alcohol addiction issue involves alcohol relapses.  Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has successfully undergone alcoholism treatment and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later.  At first thought, this predicament seems contradictory to rational thinking and sounds so unrealistic that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has gone through the dejection of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching sobriety.  There are, for sure, more than a few credible reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, on the other hand that alcohol addiction research that has focused on the enduring outcomes of alcohol dependency has shown that long after the alcohol dependent individual has stopped his or her drinking, major transformations in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’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 transformations that have come about in the brain is to start drinking once again.

The Need for A Far Reaching Lifestyle Modification

There are other reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcohol addicted persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. According 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 effectively with tough alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Circumstances 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 situations can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Unfortunately, all of these circumstances may not only contradict long standing alcohol recovery for the alcohol dependent individual but they can also result in relapse and thus cancel out one’s alcohol recovery.

Summary

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol dependent person, family members can actually cause unplanned damage by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The substance abuse research literature validates the fact that most people who effectively complete alcohol counseling go through at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or stressed out when a relapse happens.

Luckily, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up counseling and education have resulted in more effective, ongoing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency therapeutic outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent individuals attain long-term alcohol recovery.

Share and Enjoy:
  • Digg
  • Sphinn
  • del.icio.us
  • Facebook
  • Mixx
  • Google Bookmarks
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Alternative Therapies

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!