It is fascinating to mention something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcohol addiction of another family member plainly do not know. It appears that by protecting the alcohol dependent person with untruths and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in essence created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent individual to carry on and advance with his or her harmful, detrimental existence.

Without a doubt, rather than helping the alcoholic and themselves, these family members have in fact become enablers who have involuntarily helped deteriorate the alcohol dependent person’s drinking problem even more.

Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol addicted individual will continue drinking in an abusive and hazardous manner and suffer from various “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include diminished mental functioning, employment difficulties, poor health, deteriorating relationships, legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DUIs), and considerable financial problems.

The Chances of a Relapse are Real

According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol dependency, another key alcohol dependency issue involves alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has fruitfully gone through alcoholism treatment and then resorts to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance seems contradictory to common sense and looks so doubtful that it forces a person to wonder why anyone who has lived through the dreadfulness of alcoholism can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol rehabilitation and in turn after achieving recovery. There are, for sure, numerous plausible reasons for this.

It should be noted, conversely that alcohol dependency research that has focused on the enduring consequences of alcohol dependency has revealed that long after the alcohol addicted individual has discontinued his or her drinking, fundamental alterations in the way in which the alcohol dependent individual’s brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the transformations that have taken place in the brain is to engage in drinking once again.

The Necessity for A Drastic Lifestyle Change

There are even more reasons why numerous recovering alcohol addicted individuals return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining 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 efficiently with difficult alcohol-related situations that will take place.

Situations 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 dependent individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can elicit memories that can trigger psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these situations may not only work against enduring alcohol recovery for the alcoholic but they can also lead to relapse and thus short-circuit one’s alcohol recovery.

The Good News: There’s a Lot of Hope for a Lasting Recovery

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcohol addicted individual, family members can essentially cause unintentional damage by enabling the destructive drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted person.

The addiction research literature confirms the fact that most individuals who effectively complete alcohol therapy go through at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get depressed or overwhelmed when a relapse manifests itself.

Fortunately, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and education have resulted in more successful, long-term alcohol abuse and alcoholism rehab outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent individuals reach long-term sobriety.