Alcohol Freedom Blog

There is a common misconception that alcoholics are easily identified based on their appearance, where they live, their job status, or because they look or act “impaired”. When you factor in slipping job performance, and/or increasingly showing up late or calling in sick, it may seem easy to point to someone as having a drinking problem.

But what of those who have become adept at hiding their drinking habits behind their life and/or career successes, or are what is commonly referred to as a high functioning alcoholic (HFA)?

At first, high functioning alcoholics in executive positions may believe they have their drinking under control because it isn’t obviously affecting what they do. They still make all the big decisions, conduct important meetings and keep the stock holders happy – today. In an instant all this can change.

As time goes on and excessive drinking continues, they may not notice that they’re not as sharp in their thinking, or notice memory lapses or that crucial tasks and planning may be forgotten or mishandled. Others will. At that point, it is not just your health or your family’s well-being on the line, but a company’s reputation and bottom line.

For an executive in this position, they may feel they’re in a “no win” situation.

On the one hand, they can admit they have a problem, seek help and take time off away from the company to participate in an in-patient alcohol treatment program. They know this can still affect the company or organization they represent in a negative way. Stock prices can fall, confidence in their abilities and past decisions can be questioned while away, and they’re not able to address them directly.

On the other hand, they’ve considered attending AA meetings, but whether they fear recognition or for any other reason, decide it just isn’t an option for them.

But they know if they don’t get help, chances are they will still continue to drink, leaving their company, family and health at risk.

Fortunately there are confidential, out-patient treatment programs available to help those who may feel there are no other options. Freedom From Alcohol® is an effective, discrete treatment program that not only helps curb the compulsion to drink and identify your drinking triggers, but just as importantly, works with you to create a roadmap to achieve the life you want to regain or to have in your personal and professional life.

When addicted to alcohol, it seems to rule your life. You are likely basing many of your life decisions around the use of alcohol. Where can I get my next drink? Does anyone know I am drunk? If I get caught, what will happen to my career and family? These types of thoughts can be racing through your mind at any given moment and make thinking about anything else very difficult.

When you decide to limit the influence of alcohol, you will be taking the first step toward getting your life back. You may have the self–realization that you don’t like where your life is going with alcohol at your side. Or it will take a definitive moment such as an unnatural behavior, accident or loss of a relationship due to excessive drinking.

Some will try to cut down on their drinking while others will try to completely eliminate it. Often times people find that these two methods are unsuccessful, leading them back to alcohol. When this occurs, drinkers will then seek professional help. Professional services such as in-house rehabilitation treatment centers or Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and other 12 step programs will help you to get your life back on track; however, sometimes these plans are not an option because of the sensitivity of your career, your position in the community or the fact that you simply do not have the time to be away from home for an extended time.

The Freedom From Alcohol® program helps you modify and control your drinking or opt for complete cessation if that’s what you wish. This program will help you to change your life by setting goals for yourself and giving you the tools necessary to achieve them. If you are ready to reduce the amount of alcohol you drink, eliminate it completely or just have questions about whether the Freedom From Alcohol® program is right for you, please contact me.

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.

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 »