Turn families' desire to rescue into a positive

Many of us are all too familiar with the concept that came out in the 1980s that described how family members perpetuated the vicious cycle of addiction. “Enabling” behaviors offered examples of how families responded and coped with their loved one's struggle with addiction and how it fed the destructive path of the addict. We have come to understand reasons why families continue to engage in these behaviors, many times knowing full well how detrimental it could be to the recovery process. Nevertheless, this concept warrants further inquiry to improve our understanding of families' resistance and the dilemmas that keep them from changing despite their better judgment. A better appreciation of this struggle may serve to elicit more cooperation in working with these families.

Doing for people what they can do for themselves is a common definition of enabling in the addiction world. Do we always know what the addict is capable of, especially under the influence of mood-altering chemicals? The ultimate family fear is pulling out of this enabling process and having the loved one die as a result. This is a very real and valid fear. The longer the rescuing has occurred, the greater the chances of this.

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