Alcohol Relapse and When Helping the Alcoholic Becomes Hurtful
Posted by GuestW on Jul 13, 2009 in Diseases • No commentsIt is worthy of note to point out something that family members who have been unfavorably affected by the alcoholism of another family member obviously do not understand. It seems to be that by protecting the alcohol dependent person with untruths and deceit to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in reality created a situation that makes it easier for the alcoholic to carry on and press forward with his or her damaging, devastating lifestyle.
Undeniably, rather than helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have involuntarily helped worsen the drinking problems of the problem drinker even further.
Relapses Can and Do Transpire
Another key alcohol dependency issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted person has fruitfully undergone alcohol dependency rehab and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this situation seems contradictory to commonsensical thinking and appears to be so unrealistic that it forces an individual to wonder why anyone who has lived through the dreadfulness of alcohol addiction can return to drinking a short while after successful alcohol treatment and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, without a doubt, more than a few feasible reasons for this.
It should be pointed out, nonetheless that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the enduring consequences of alcoholism has shown that long after the alcohol dependent person has discontinued his or her drinking, fundamental modifications in the way in which the alcoholic’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol addicted individual 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 Change
There are even more reasons why more than a few 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 an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with taxing alcohol-related situations that will take place.
Situations 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 person was drinking in a hazardous manner; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent individual to engage in abusive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only contradict long lasting sobriety for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and as a result counteract one’s alcohol recovery.
Summary
In an attempt to “protect†the family alcohol addicted person, family members can in point of fact cause unintended damage by enabling the unsafe drinking behavior of the alcohol dependent individual.
The alcohol abuse research literature demonstrates the fact that most individuals who successfully complete alcohol treatment experience at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get dejected or beleaguered when a relapse takes place.
Fortunately, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and training have resulted in more productive, long-term alcohol abuse and alcoholism therapeutic outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals attain lasting alcohol recovery.
