My sister just relapsed and it's only been a week since she got back. She says she has it under control and won't do it again. Do I believe this or take her back?

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You have to take her back. You have to trust her. You have to support her. You have to watch her to protect herself from herself. You cannot reject her. You cannot judge her. You cannot condemn her. If you follow the four "have to" instructions, she may still fall away. If you disregard the three "cannot" instructions, she definitely will.

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You don't "have" to do anything, but you may find it helpful to learn a bit more about alcoholism, perhaps attend a couple of Al Anon meetings.

A guy shared at a meeting last night that his very active in AA at one point sponsor with several decades of sobriety decided to drink again, and we can only conjecture how that turned out for him, not likely unicorns and rainbows.

I've come to understand that I have a daily reprieve from the obsession to drink, contingent on continuing to do the things that helped me get and stay sober. I am under no delusion that I am cured or that I will never drink again.

I suggest that you meet your sister where she is at and take steps to protect yourself and your property, but also love her and support the conversations and actions that are conducive to lasting sobriety.

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I think most addiction counseling says, love her, but don’t own her addiction. Take care of yourself first. Addicts can be loving, wonderful people but their addiction often comes first and you can’t be accountable for that.

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Got back from “rehab”, I assume? Rehab unfortunately has a very low success rate. The rehab itself is typically a safe space where people are completely insulated and isolated from outside influences, which makes it much easier to remain clean. Without a solid after-care plan, and ideally a program like AA, the likelihood of sustained sobriety is super low.

The nature of addiction is that we don’t “have it under control” and there are no circumstances where we will ever have control, which is why abstinence is the answer. Buttt, abstinence is a brutal word to hear for an addict, because that means “no never”, which is why AA deeply embraces the idea of “one day at a time”. I can’t guarantee I’ll stay sober forever, but I will do what’s been suggested and what’s been working to stay sober today.

Recovery seems to work best when the sufferer has hit a bottom, surrenders, and asks for help. It’s rare that someone end up in rehab because someone else forced them to go and then they manage to “get it” and get clean. The denial of the addiction seems to be strengthened when the path to recovery includes a resentment against the person who’s trying to force it to happen.

As others have suggested, proceed with love, perhaps check out AlAnon for yourself, and be ready to help when help is requested (but not in an enabling way).

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