Alcohol Freedom Blog

When people drink excessively, it not only affects their actions and their heath, but it also deeply affects those around them. Friends and family of an excessive drinker or alcoholic often change their lives to protect and/or accommodate what this person does and feels – in effect, “enabling” their loved one’s drinking problem.

Have you ever:

• Made excuses for someone’s behavior or absences due to their drinking?
• Had to change plans suddenly because of loved one’s drinking habits?
• Done something for your friend or family member that they are completely capable of doing, but they couldn’t do at that time because they had too much to drink?
• Called a person into work “sick”, because they were under the influence or too hung over to go into the office?
• Tried to hide or throw away alcoholic beverages to get them to stop drinking – even for that day?
• Made them feel guilty, or accused them of not caring about you and/or their family enough in an attempt to stop them from drinking?
• Felt hopeless, frustrated and out of control because of another’s drinking problem?

These are oftentimes symptoms of being an enabler. We enablers mistakenly believe we are helping our loved one by protecting them, or shaming or accusing them in an effort to get them to stop drinking, but in fact we make the situation worse.

So what can you do?

The first thing you need to understand is that you are not the cause of their problem drinking.

The second thing you need to understand is that you can’t “fix” the excessive drinker, nor can you force them to stop drinking or accept treatment.

What you can do is accept the support of programs available to help you with getting control of your own feelings of hopelessness and despair and give you the tools you need to learn a better way of life and find happiness – for you.

Two very good options:

• AlaNon (AlaTeen) – The website to get information about this wonderful group is: http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/english.html. There is also an online message board for additional support, which can be found at: http://www.activeboard.com/forum.spark?forumID=42727.
• Learn about Codependency and/or seek assistance with a qualified Codependent Counselor. Your company may have an Employee Assistance Program that can refer you to a local resource. A good website to check out is http://www.codependents.org/.

A final note: While the one you care about needs your love and support, the primary person you should be focusing on is yourself. You will be able to be much more effective in helping your loved one seek help when you are experiencing well-being.

For many, consuming alcoholic beverages in moderation is not a problem. But for others, drinking can lead to problems in their life. Do you think you have a drinking problem, or are on the path to one? If so, there is a simple self evaluation test you can take that can help you to decide whether or not you have a problem. Take our Alcohol Screening test now to see if you might have a problem with alcohol.

When you take the alcohol screening test, rest assured you will:

• Be completely anonymous
• Receive immediate feedback and recommended action based on your score

If you are ready to seek help, there are many options available. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings can help, seeking treatment in the traditional sense with a 12 step program, or you can go to one of the many alcohol residential treatment centers available. Both have proven to be very effective in treating alcoholism.

But what if you are not comfortable with the prospect of attending AA meetings, or you’re unable to take extended time off to go to an in-house alcohol treatment center due to your need for utmost discretion, and/or because you have a demanding, high level position, or because of your position in the community?

These options may not work for you, but that doesn’t mean that you should sacrifice help. If you fall into one of these situations, our program is designed for you. The two treatment options we provide:

1. The In House Freedom program that includes an In-Person medical evaluation as part of your treatment and,
2. The Internet-Based Freedom program, that involves partnering with your own physician as part of your treatment.

Both Freedom From Alcohol® treatment programs utilize medical evaluations, alcohol cessation medication, coaching/counseling, and other proven techniques to help you break free from your alcohol dependency.

If you think you may have a problem with excessive drinking and have questions or would like more information about our programs, please contact me today for a complimentary and confidential consultation.

Awhile back, I wrote about Coping with the Holidays and gave you some tips to help curb your drinking during this stressful time.

How did you do with those tips?  Were you able to reduce or eliminate your drinking by getting more sleep and exercise?

If you noticed that you drank more than you anticipated, or were not able to handle the stress without a drink, you are not alone and you are not a failure.  Making life changes is hard work and doesn’t happen over night.

We’re winding up the first quarter of the year, and it is a great opportunity for change – a time to focus on you and getting healthy, so you can be at your best in the office and with your family.

An effective way to get started is to identify your drinking patterns and triggers by keeping a journal of your drinking activity.  Start with writing down when you drink and how much you drank.  Think about why you made a decision to drink and what activities made you want to drink more.  Documenting this information will help you begin to identify patterns in your life that lead to excessive drinking, and this is an important step in your recovery. When reviewing, study these activities to become aware of any patterns you’re seeing, and make a plan to avoid those situations, or do something in its place to reduce your chance of excessive drinking.

As a part of the Freedom From Alcohol® treatment program, I’ll help guide you through the process of healing.  Our practical guide and proprietary software program are designed to assist you in identifying your drinking habits, triggers, and other conflicts that lead to your drinking.  With these tools you can document your thoughts, feelings and other revelations about your drinking to aid in the ongoing dialogue you will have with me throughout your treatment program.

I’m available to answer any questions you might have about the program and whether it is right for you.  For more information, or to start your treatment program today, please contact me.