It is worthy of note to mention something that family members who have been adversely affected by the alcoholism of another family member clearly do not grasp. It seems that by shielding the alcohol dependent individual with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have essentially created a situation that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to persist and go forward with his or her harmful, destructive existence.

Indeed, instead of helping the alcohol dependent individual and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have mistakenly helped negatively affect the alcoholic’s drinking problem even further.

The Probability of a Relapse is Real

Another key alcohol dependency issue involves alcohol relapses.  Relapses take place when an alcohol addicted individual has successfully undergone alcohol dependency therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later.  At first thought, this situation flies in the face of sound thinking and seems so unrealistic that it forces an individual 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 recovery.  There are, of course, numerous likely reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, nevertheless that alcoholism research that has focused on the long-term consequences of alcohol addiction has shown that long after the alcoholic has discontinued his or her drinking, major transformations in the way in which the alcohol dependent person’s brain functions are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcohol dependent individual has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the changes that have taken place in the brain is to begin drinking once again.

The Need for A Critical Lifestyle Modification

There are additional reasons why quite a lot of recovering alcohol dependent persons return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after attaining sobriety. According to the alcohol addiction research literature, to make a successful recovery, the alcoholic needs new ways of acting and thinking in order to deal more successfully with challenging alcohol-related circumstances that will take place.

Conditions 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 situations can bring about memories that can set off psychological anxiety or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted individual to engage in hazardous drinking once again. Sadly, all of these circumstances may not only counteract long-term alcohol recovery for the alcohol addicted person but they can also lead to relapse and thus negate one’s alcohol recovery.

Conclusion

In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can actually cause unplanned harm by enabling the negative drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The alcohol abuse research literature highlights the fact that most individuals who successfully 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 defeated or stressed out when a relapse manifests itself.

Fortunately, taking part in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and training have resulted in more successful, long lasting alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction treatment outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals reach long lasting sobriety.