Enabling, Alcoholism, and Alcohol Relapse
It is interesting to articulate something that family members who have been harmfully affected by the alcohol dependency of another family member plainly do not grasp. It seems to be that by shielding the alcohol dependent person with untruths and dishonesty to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in essence created a condition that makes it easier for the alcohol dependent person to persevere and press forward with his or her unsafe, detrimental existence.
Clearly, instead of helping the alcohol addicted person and themselves, these family members have in reality become enablers who have involuntarily helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted person’s drinking problem even further.
Perhaps the real downside of this is that the alcohol dependent person will continue drinking in a hazardous and excessive manner and go through various “alcohol side effects.” Some of these side effects include legal issues (such as getting arrested for one or more DWIs), diminished mental functioning, deteriorating relationships, serious financial problems, ill health, and employment difficulties.
The Likelihood of a Relapse is Real
According to the research literature and statistics on alcohol addiction, another key alcohol dependency issue concerns alcohol relapses. Relapses take place when an alcoholic has effectively undergone alcohol dependency therapy and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this predicament flies in the face of commonsensical thinking and seems so unbelievable that it forces one to wonder why anyone who has gone through the misery of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective alcohol rehabilitation and in turn after reaching sobriety. There are, to be sure, numerous reasonable reasons for this.
It should be explained, on the other hand that alcohol dependency research that has centered on the lasting consequences of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol addicted individual has halted his or her drinking, major modifications in the way in which the alcohol addicted person’s brain operates are still present. As a result, all a recovering alcoholic has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the modifications that have occurred in the brain is to start drinking once again.
The Necessity for A Drastic Lifestyle Change
There are additional reasons why several recovering alcoholics return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after achieving sobriety. In accordance to the alcoholism research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol dependent individual needs new ways of reacting and thinking in order to deal more effectively with tough alcohol-related circumstances 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 addicted individual was drinking abusively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities—all of these circumstances can bring forth memories that can prompt psychological stress or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol dependent person to engage in excessive drinking once again. Regrettably, all of these circumstances may not only get in the way of lasting sobriety for the alcohol addicted person but they can also lead to relapse and consequently negate one’s alcohol recovery.
The Good News: There’s Light at the End of the Tunnel
In an attempt to “protect” the family alcoholic, family members can in point of fact cause inadvertent harm by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcoholic.
The alcohol abuse research literature validates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol rehab experience at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted 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, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up therapy and training have resulted in more productive, lasting alcohol abuse and alcohol addiction rehab outcomes, have helped decrease alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol dependent persons attain enduring sobriety.
A Health Teacher in the Largest Co-ed High School in the Local Community Motivates Her Pupils to Learn About the Significance of Alcohol Dependency Signs in Today’s Society
Miss Benning was a health teacher at the largest co-educational high school in the county. Even though she had been teaching for only a few years, she had already established a reputation as a teacher with instructional methods that inspired and stimulated her pupils to think and to learn.
As an illustration, one Friday afternoon at 1:30 she addressed the pupils in her classroom and articulated the following: “For the next two weeks we are going to learn about some basic alcoholism facts from a more broad-based point of view and we are also going to learn about some of the most highly researched signs of alcoholism from a more specific perspective.”
“Not all of these alcoholism signs will definitely show that an individual with a drinking problem is an alcohol dependent individual, but the more signs that a drinker exhibits, the greater the probability that he or she is an alcoholic.”
Miss Benning then told the members in the class that each individual would be accountable for investigating four alcohol dependence signs and then presenting his or her findings to the class via a eight minute oral presentation.
The Students are Energized About Giving A Detailed Presentation to Their Fellow Classmates About Alcoholism Signs
After learning about the different signs of alcohol addiction for several days, the time had finally come for the individual presentations. It was at once noticeable that the pupils in her class were enthused about the topic because the information that they presented was first class. To say that Miss Benning was pleasantly surprised with the passion manifested by her pupils concerning this topic could not be overstated.
The day after all of the pupils completed their presentations, Miss Benning passed out a piece of paper with a list of all the alcohol addiction signs that were presented and discussed in the presentations and in class. Miss Benning then asked her students to go over the list and rank the top ten alcohol addiction signs that were most indicative of alcohol dependency. After roughly twenty minutes, Miss Benning collected the pieces of paper and explained to the pupils in her class that after she reviews the numbers, she will reveal her findings the next school day.
There was a real buzz by the students while they were exiting Miss Benning’s classroom. One could swear that her students couldn’t wait for the next day to come so that they could learn about the outcome of their in-class research.
The Pupils Compare Their Numbers With the Results From A Team of Alcoholism Professionals
When the next school day arrived, Miss Benning handed out a sheet of paper that listed the top three alcohol addiction signs as per the pupils’ rankings. To the right of these results, she added another column that was labeled “experts’ response.” She then explained to her students that the numbers in the additional column she added signified the findings that were announced by a panel of drug and alcohol addiction authorities.
Miss Benning asked the students in her classroom to look over the information she passed out and then to raise their hand if they had any questions, issues, or concerns. Within 30 or 40 seconds, almost every student in the class raised his or her hand. It was apparent that the students had some concerns, questions, or issues about their results versus the answers given by the specialists. For instance, virtually every individual in the class disagreed with the highest ranked answer given by the specialists, specifically, “Do you feel extremely nauseous when you abstain from drinking?”
The Most Important Difference Between Alcohol Dependency and Alcohol Abuse is the Physical Dependency That is Experienced With Alcoholism and Not With Alcohol Abuse
Miss Benning then explained to the students in her classroom why this answer was the most straightforward sign of alcohol dependency. She underlined the fact that the basic difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse is the physical dependency that is experienced with alcohol dependency and not with alcohol abuse.
Primarily this means that when an individual who is addicted to alcohol all of a sudden quits drinking, he or she will experience alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
Miss Benning then informed the pupils in her classroom that alcohol withdrawal symptoms are responses by the body and by the brain to the deficiency of alcohol to which they had become accustomed. Stated another way, alcohol withdrawal symptoms are messages from the body and from the brain telling an alcohol dependent person that something is dreadfully misaligned and needs to be rectified. These messages consist of a number of painful, uncomfortable, and dangerous withdrawal symptoms that can potentially result in a person’s death if the proper therapy is not immediately received.
Miss Benning then went over the many diverse alcohol withdrawal symptoms that can be experienced when a person who is addicted to alcohol abruptly stops drinking.
The fact that Miss Benning tried to underscore was this: an individual who engages in alcohol abuse can experience almost any and every one of the alcohol addiction signs that the students had ranked, but the one sign or symptom that few, if any, individuals who engage in alcohol abuse ever experience is alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
To state this as overtly as possible, Miss Benning underscored the fact that alcohol abusers, unlike individuals who are addicted to alcohol, are not alcohol dependent and as a result, when they quit drinking, they almost never suffer from alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
The Students Think They Have Uncovered A Deviation With the Findings From The Board of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Experts
The students also had an issue with the second ranked answer given by the drug and alcohol addiction experts, that is to say, “Have you ever had a drink the first thing in the morning to get rid of a hangover or to steady your nerves?”
Miss Benning explained to the students in her class that this sign does not automatically suggest that the problem is alcoholism, but that it does underline the need that alcohol addicted people have to drink in order to avert alcohol withdrawal symptoms.
After Miss Benning explained the relevance of alcohol withdrawal symptoms in the life of the person who is addicted to alcohol, the students started to grasp the fundamental difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism.
To add a sense of closure to the topic, Miss Benning asked the students in her classroom to take out a piece of paper and answer the following question: “if every person who is an alcoholic knew about every one of the alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcoholism signs we have studied, what percentage of them do you think would ask for alcohol dependency treatment?”
After approximately one or two minutes, Miss Benning asked for the students’ answers. While many pupils believed that approximately 85 to 95 percent of alcohol dependent people would get alcohol addiction rehab if they knew about the facts related to alcohol withdrawal symptoms and alcohol dependency signs, most of the pupils reasoned that this number would not be less than 50 percent.
The Students Were Astonished to Discover That Only 25% of Individuals Who are Alcohol Dependent in the U.S. Obtain Alcoholism Treatment
To the astonishment of most of the pupils, Miss Benning mentioned that according to various scientific examinations, only 25% of the alcohol addicted people in the United States obtain alcoholism rehab. This surprised most of the students because they believed that first-hand knowledge of the alarming facts and statistics linked to alcohol addiction would motivate most of the people who are addicted to alcohol to ask for alcohol treatment.
Miss Benning then stated that individuals who are alcohol dependent not only need alcohol on an everyday basis in order to function but they also need alcohol everyday so they can stay away from possible alcohol withdrawal symptoms. Evidently, the alcohol dependent person’s need to drink on a daily basis is more powerful than facts or logic. Certainly, due to the fact that the thirst for alcohol is “reality” to the alcohol dependent person, this is hard to overcome.
The Pupils are Eager to Learn About Alcohol Dependency Symptoms and Signs in Today’s Society
A few minutes later the bell rang, signaling the end of class. Based on the excitement displayed by the students when they were leaving the room, Miss Benning recognized that she had encouraged and stimulated her students to stop and think about a noteworthy health and social problem that exists in our society.