Alcoholism and Relapse

Alcoholism is often called a disease of relapse. What pertains to alcoholism and relapse actually pertains to drug addiction and relapse in general, but for simplicity’s sake I’ll write about alcoholism and relapse. Relapse is when an alcoholic has had a period of recovery and then starts drinking again. If an alcoholic has had a period of sobriety and drinks for one or two nights then gets back on track and continues in sobriety, then that’s more of a lapse than a full blown relapse.

It’s not uncommon for alcoholics who are trying to stay sober to “fall off the wagon”, especially in the beginning. Even after months or years of sobriety, alcoholics will return to drinking for different reasons and for varying lengths of time and intensity. If an alcoholic gets into a long term recovery program like AA, the chances of the alcoholic staying sober permanently are much better, but it’s definitely not a sure thing. Some alcoholics return to drinking after many years of sobriety and steady AA attendance. The alcoholic who relapses might drink for a while then return to AA and recovery or they might drink for years before reentering recovery, or they might die drinking.

Alcoholism is a disease that’s difficult to overcome, and even more difficult to understand. Alcoholism is treatable, and relapse is not inevitable or, if it happens, is not the end of the world. Sometimes a person is shamed for returning to drinking – “how could you?” – but it’s a part of the disease. Shaming an alcoholic is never productive. The alcoholic will always have a special relationship to alcohol, even if it seems insane to someone looking from the outside. Science doesn’t have all the answers, but science learns more and more as time goes on. Sometimes it’s as simple as the alcoholic forgetting how bad it was, then after a period time deciding that it wasn’t that bad and that now they can handle it better since they know more about the condition. Sometimes there is no explanation — the alcoholic, when brutally honest, will admit they have no idea why they returned to alcohol.

The best way to deal with alcoholism is to not over-react if relapse happens — remember that most alcoholics die from their condition, so even if recovery is not perfect and relapse free, if an alcoholic is staying sober more than they’re drinking, and if their life has improved significantly, even with the relapses, then that’s better than uninterrupted alcoholism that progressively gets worse and ends in disaster.