Alcohol Freedom Blog

In my post last week, I mentioned the challenges of coping with the holidays. I’d like to share some ideas with you that I think will help take you away from bad habits this holiday season:

1. Get plenty of sleep and exercise. Proper rest and being active helps you handle the extra stress of the holiday season.
2. Design your ideal day. Sit down and think of a perfect day, think of the things you would do from the moment you woke up until the moment you go back to sleep. Where would you work, where would you be, what would you wear and with whom would you spend your time. Thinking of the life you want can be a powerful trigger to help you evaluate your current activities and habits.
3. Do something completely different. Take a walk through your neighborhood to view holiday decorations, go on a picnic or visit a museum. Familiarity can be a trap, especially around the holidays. When you are trying to drink less, it’s difficult to keep the same social schedule or routine without reaching for a drink.

Through the use of anti-craving medication and our proven Freedom From Alcohol Method ® we’ve helped so many make it through the holidays without excessive drinking. If you need help now, please consult your doctor or contact me to learn if our program is the right one to help you curb excessive drinking.

As the holiday season is upon us, there are usually more opportunities or excuses for functioning alcoholics to over-indulge. Informal happy hours with co-corkers are filled with well wishes for most, and pitfalls for the alcoholic. Work sponsored holiday parties and social gatherings are also risky endeavors that could lead to embarrassing behavior and career threatening transgressions.

Holiday parties are one source of opportunity for the high functioning alcoholic but of equal concern are the senses of loneliness, stress and despair that many people feel during the holiday season. (If you often feel extra stress this time of year, The Mayo Clinic has some great tips to cope with the extra stress of the holiday season.) For many people, making it from Thanksgiving to New Years’ usually involves excessive consumption of alcohol.

What’s important to remember is that most alcoholics are not on the street begging for change. Most are among us contributing to society and holding down jobs. Most are like you or your friends. In between work and drinking, alcoholics often attempt to have normal family and other relationships. It’s only as the disease progresses, usually without self realization, that alcoholics begin to sabotage their careers and friendships.

So how do you know if you have a problem?

1. Keep a journal of your drinking through the holidays
2. Set a hard limit of drinks and see if you can stick to it
3. Take the alcohol screening test

Most importantly, whether you feel you have a problem or you feel you don’t — but still want to curb your drinking; contact me today to see if The Freedom From Alcohol Method® is right for you.

It takes one to know one. That old expression from our adolescence usually rings true. Experience is a great teacher and is a powerful engine for the human experience. Even small children learn from experience. Whether we are learning a letter or a color, once we know how to identify something we can easily pick it out of a group. However, what’s true for the telltale crooked lines of a “Z” or the calming of the “blue” sky; is not true of alcoholism.

Many people only recognize an alcoholic as the person on the street with a bottle in his hand or someone that is not able to hold down a job. As defined by Merriam-Webster, Alcoholism is the continued excessive or compulsive use of alcoholic drinks.

Because they don’t know how to recognize it and the effect of the alcohol, alcoholics are very often blind to their own disorder. As their disease progresses, most alcoholics are functioning members of society: They hold down jobs and are successful in their careers, and family life; however, in hindsight many such drinkers have observed significant problematic issues unaddressed in these areas that he or she denies or is unaware of. Without help, it’s very likely this disease will cause the loss of all these things held dear.

I encourage you to read a recent post on taking your life back and recognizing signs of alcoholism and to get help today if you think you may be a high functioning alcoholic, or might know someone who is.

How do you know when you need help? As we covered in previous posts, Alcoholism is a progressive disease that seems to occur unbeknownst to the person with the affliction. The functioning alcoholic does not necessarily realize that their pattern of drinking has become more predictable and that they are slowly increasing their consumption.

So if you think you might be a high functioning alcoholic, or someone you care about or respect is questioning your decision to drink; how do you know if you have a problem?

Here are the three strategies to help you arrive at the answer to the question: Do I need help?

1. Set a limit for your drinking. If you can consume 2 or 3 alcoholic beverages over the course of your night out and can consistently stop without having “just one more” or “one for the road.” You may not need help. (In all cases we would recommend you consult with a qualified medical practitioner.) The key is to be honest with your self and to set a limit that is safe and much less than you may normally have.
2. Keep a journal of your drinking. Note not only the date and day but the times, types of drinks and amounts. If you see any patterns developing or drinking not within normal realms (The two martini lunch only happened on Bewitched), then please seek an impartial consultation from a medical professional.
3. Take a que from the Office of Professional Management and review their handbook on alcohol in the workplace. When you think of the warning signs, do you think of yourself?

The key to addressing High Functioning Alcoholism is honest self evaluation and to  get help today.

In a previous post about anti-craving medication, we discussed many medications that might be used to help combat alcoholism.  Anti-craving medication is a critical tool in the Freedom From Alcohol® Method; however, the program is much more than just a prescription to end your abuse of or dependence on alcohol.

Alcoholism is not caused by a missing chemical that can be replaced or permanently regulated by medication.  That said, anti-craving medication is a very useful part of the treatment of alcohol abuse or dependence and can help reduce the urge to drink alcohol or overindulge.  Even if you are attempting to curtail your drinking through abstinence, it’s not always easy to avoid social situations where alcohol is served. Anti-craving medication – along with a proven program – will help you see past the opportunity to drink and help you focus on what is best for your well being.

For example, many professionals feel pressure to participate in informal “Happy Hours” and formal client gatherings.  In reality, busy professionals who are trying to balance the reality of abuse or dependence and the need to be visible outside of the workplace often choose career ambition before well-being.  Unfortunately, alcohol abuse or dependence and a positive career path are usually mutually exclusive and those who feel compelled to attend these functions can damage their careers and their health. 

Anti-craving medications administered in alcohol treatment programs help patients resist the urge to drink and can help reduce binge drinking.  More importantly, over time, these medications clear the fog of alcohol so that the root cause of the alcoholism can be identified and treated.  Once control over alcohol is attained, a new life plan and journey can begin.

Picture this scenario. The CFO of a fortune 500 company is sighted at a business function over-indulging in alcohol to the point where he/she becomes loud and overt in his/her conversations. Other executives take notice of this behavior and make a note to speak to Human Resources about this potential problem with alcohol and the ramifications of confronting the employee about any impending issues to this looming predicament.  Continue Reading »

You may have been drinking for years and the cumulative effect of the alcohol and your actions has taken a toll on your health and your general existence.

Continue Reading »

As awful as an alcoholic’s life can become during the drinking days, there are times when in recovery an alcoholic will remember when things were pretty good – and this can lead to problems. Remembering when times weren’t so bad when drinking can certainly take you down memory lane – like having a few beers on a hot summer day after mowing the lawn while listening to a ball game.  An enjoyable experience at the time and if you weren’t an alcoholic this would be much more than a memory.

Continue Reading »

“I cried to the Lord and He answered by setting me free” PSALMS 118:5

Alcoholism is such a destabilizing illness that can remove one from their life’s direction in a very short time. Heavy drinking leading to loss of family, livelihood, position in your community and your health can leave you exhausted and morally depleted. With their backs firmly against the wall and facing a frightful future, most alcoholics will turn to their Higher Power for the strength they need to make the difficult decisions. Continue Reading »

Picture this scenario. The CFO of a fortune 500 company is sighted at a business function over-indulging in alcohol to the point where he/she becomes loud and overt in his/her conversations. Other executives take notice of this behavior and make a note to speak to Human Resources about this potential problem with alcohol and the ramifications of confronting the employee about any impending issues to this looming predicament. Continue Reading »