Alcohol Addiction, Enabling, And Alcohol Relapse: When Commitment In Friendships And Relationships Becomes Detrimental

June 10, 2010 posted by Matt

It is remarkable to mention something that family members who have been negatively affected by the alcoholism of another family member apparently do not comprehend. It seems that by shielding the alcohol dependent individual with lies and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in effect created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to persist and move forward with his or her damaging, devastating lifestyle.

In fact, rather than helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have in truth become enablers who have inadvertently helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problem even more.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcoholic will continue drinking in an abusive and irresponsible manner and go through a range of "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.

The Chances of a Relapse are Real

According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcoholism issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol dependent person has fruitfully undergone alcoholism treatment and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first glance, this predicament seems contradictory to commonsensical thinking and seems so far-fetched that it forces a person to speculate why anyone who has gone through the wretchedness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after achieving sobriety. There are, to be sure, numerous credible reasons for this.

It should be explained, however that alcoholism research that has centered on the long standing consequences of alcoholism has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol dependent individual has discontinued his or her drinking, significant transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain works are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in actions that correspond with the changes that have come about in the brain is to engage in drinking again.

The Necessity for An Essential Lifestyle Modification

There are even more reasons why more than a few recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. According to the alcohol dependency research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol dependent person needs new ways of acting and thinking in order to deal more effectively with taxing 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 individual was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these situations can elicit memories that can set off psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent individual to engage in excessive drinking once again. Sadly, all of these situations may not only get in the way of enduring alcohol recovery for the alcohol addicted individual but they can also lead to relapse and therefore work against one’s alcohol recovery.

The Good News: Quality Help is Readily Available

In an attempt to “protect” the family's alcohol dependent individual, family members can in fact cause unintentional destruction by enabling the unhealthy drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent individual.

The drug abuse research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol rehabilitation experience at least one relapse. Alcoholics and their family members need to know this so that they do not get depressed or stressed out when a relapse manifests itself.

Luckily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and education have resulted in more successful, long lasting alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency rehab outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent individuals achieve long standing sobriety.

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