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It is remarkable to point out something that family members who have been adversely affected by the signs of alcoholism of another family member plainly do not comprehend. It seems to be that by shielding the alcoholic with lies and deceitfulness to those outside the family, these well-intentioned family members have in effect created a circumstance that makes it easier for the alcohol addicted person to persist and move forward with his or her damaging, devastating existence.

Without a doubt, rather than helping the alcohol addicted individual and themselves, these family members have essentially become enablers who have unintentionally helped negatively affect the alcohol addicted person's drinking problems and increase her or his negative "alcohol signs."

Another one of the key chronic alcohol abuse signs or alcoholism signs involves alcohol relapses. Relapses happen when an alcohol addicted individual or chronic alcohol abuser has successfully gone through alcohol addiction rehab and then returns to drinking a number of weeks or months later. At first thought, this circumstance seems contradictory to rational thinking and seems so unbelievable that it forces an individual to speculate why anyone who has gone through the awfulness of alcohol dependency can return to drinking a short while after effective and successful alcohol rehabilitation and in turn after reaching recovery. There are, for sure, more than a few plausible reasons for this.

It should be mentioned, on the other hand that alcoholism research that has focused on the long standing outcomes of alcohol dependency has demonstrated-proven that long after the alcohol addicted individual has quit her or his drinking, significant changes in the way in which the alcohol addicted person's brain functions are still present. As a consequence, all a recovering alcohol dependent person has to do to involve himself or herself in behaviors that correspond with the modifications that have taken place in the brain is to engage in drinking once again.

There are even more reasons why several recovering alcoholics return to drinking a few weeks or a few months after reaching sobriety. According to the alcoholism research literature, to make an effective recovery, the alcohol addicted person needs new ways of reacting 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 atmosphere or to the same geographic location; interacting once again with friends from the time when the alcohol addicted person was drinking excessively; or familiar songs, smells, or activities-all of these situations can bring about memories that can trigger emotional tension or push hot buttons that influence the recovering alcohol addicted person to engage in irresponsible drinking once again.

Regrettably, all of these circumstances may not only counteract long standing sobriety for the alcohol dependent person but they can also lead to relapse and therefore cancel out one's alcohol recovery. In an attempt to "protect" the family, alcohol addicted family members can essentially cause inadvertent destruction by enabling the harmful drinking behavior of the alcohol addicted individual.

The alcoholism research literature demonstrates the fact that most people who successfully complete alcohol therapy experience at least one relapse. Alcohol addicted individuals and their family members need to know this so that they do not get crestfallen or beleaguered when a relapse happens.

Luckily, participation in support groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous and follow-up rehab and training have resulted in more successful, long standing alcohol abuse and alcohol dependency therapeutic outcomes, have helped diminish alcohol relapses, and have helped recovering alcohol addicted individuals accomplish long-term alcohol recovery.