Alcoholism - Causes

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Codependency. Many aspects of the ex-drinker's relationships change when drinking stops, making it difficult to remain abstinent:

• One of the most difficult problems that occur is being around other people who are able to drink socially without danger of addiction. This can lead to loneliness, low self-esteem, and a strong desire to drink again.
• Friends may not easily accept the sober, perhaps more subdued, ex-drinker. Close friends and even intimate partners may have difficulty in changing their responses to this newly sober person and, even worse, may encourage a return to drinking.
• To preserve marriages, spouses of alcoholics often build their own self-images on surviving or handling their mates' difficult behavior and then discover that they find it difficult to adjust to new roles and behaviors.

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In order to maintain abstinence, the ex-drinker may need to separate from these "enablers." Close friends and family members can find help in understanding and dealing with these issues through groups such as Al-Anon.

Social and Cultural Pressures. The media portrays the pleasures of drinking in advertising and programming. The medical benefits of light-to-moderate drinking are frequently publicized, giving ex-drinkers the spurious excuse of returning to alcohol for their health.

Review Date: 01/13/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org).