Alcohol Abuse
Alcohol problems affect millions of people worldwide – and unfortunately it’s increasing. It can be that people feel that they need a drink when they get home from work, to unwind, to de-stress, but pretty soon the remedy becomes the cause of their stress / anxiety. One glass of wine / spirits / beer leads to two, three and so on – and before you know it you’re looking forward to getting home just so you can have a drink, or you’re drinking earlier & earlier in the day. Soon one bottle becomes two and so it goes on.
But whatever the cause of your alcohol problems, whether it be work related, emotional, bad habits, unresolved personal issues, anxieties etc it’s a fact that alcohol has a major responsibility for accidents, both personal and traffic related. If left untreated it can cause you the most serious health issues leading to organ failure and your death. Of course it can also cause massive weight gain leading to heart / joint problems, the inability to work to your full potential, to cause family and relationship breakdowns, sleep deprivation, sexual issues, even cancer and dementia. But whatever the cause behind your alcohol problem – it can be beaten / brought under control.
In modern day life alcohol is so readily available, is relatively cheap and is considered to be a very sociable thing to do and we can then come to the false conclusion that drinking to excess is normal. So we consider six pints or two bottles of wine to be “ok”. Again, we can feel we need a drink before we can go out or enjoy ourselves. Clearly the misuse of alcohol is a symptom of other issues- such as stress, low confidence / low esteem, and that realisation of this is your first step on the road to recovery / getting control of your life.
At some time or another you must come to the point where you honestly assess yourself, and if you do feel that alcohol is having a negative impact on your life then you have to come to terms with the fact that you need to deal with whatever is behind it too. Do you use it as a way of dealing with things and the world around you? So if you use alcohol as a way of dealing with shyness for instance, then has the remedy become the disorder ?
Addictions / cravings / dependencies, (including alcohol, drugs, tobacco etc) all work and behave similarly. Alcohol particularly works like a confidence trickster conning you into taking it. It ‘whispers in your ear ‘ making promises of ’happiness’ ‘relief’ ‘fun’ etc. However, as you are now starting to realise, it takes far more than it ever gives. You can lose you job, partner / spouse, wealth, health but perhaps in many ways, just as importantly your dignity. People start talking about you behind your back, deriding, criticising you, and laughing about you. Think about that.
Of course when people are feeling low or stressed or vulnerable then they are perhaps more likely to turn to or go back to drink. We hear of people ‘hitting the bottle’, we see them in films or on the television – so it seems to be the thing that we do when things are getting on top of us. Attempts to force us to stop rarely work and simply back us into a corner where we rebel and fight back. So clearly it has to come from you, not just wanting to stop, because I’m sure you’ve told yourself to stop before, and it’s not worked. So it has to be your choice that you seek help to bring about that change within you.
You need to challenge yourself to get your life back, because there is only one way that things will end if you carry on the way you have been behaving. I will work with you to relieve your stress, to overcome your confidence / shyness / esteem issues – to help you to feel better about yourself. This will be a 50/50 thing. I cannot wave any magic wand over you, so if you keep doing what you are doing you are going to get the same old result. We will work together and I will challenge you to get your life back and the control that you once had. The consultations that I do are totally confidential. It doesn’t matter who you are, you can recover.