Yes....a thousand times, yes!! Every time we relapse...it gets so much harder to get sober. For me, it was because after having a lot of experience with withdrawals...I knew what my body was in for if I didn't keep alcohol in my system. So fear of withdrawal became what kept me drinking. I had been to every hospital in my area a ton of times....I became too embarrassed to go to the ER. Nurses began to recognize me. EMS people knew me by name. But I swallowed my embarrassment and finally went to the hospital....and then straight to rehab....