Alcohol Freedom Blog

At Freedom From Alcohol®, we encourage anyone that needs help eliminating or controlling their drinking to get the help they need. Whether that is with our proven alternative treatments for alcoholism or a more traditional twelve step approach, we want you to get the treatment that works for you.

While there are many twelve step programs that effectively help you eliminate alcohol from your life, these programs are not for everyone. Many successful managers and business people are caught between their drinking and the stigma of what they know of alcohol treatment. Unfortunately; Hollywood has made us think that there are only two alcohol treatment options:

• Publicly implicate yourself as an alcoholic (It seems that AA and similar meetings are popular fodder for movies and we are all familiar with the line, “My name is … and I am an alcoholic.” )
• Attend in patient alcohol treatment. This seems to be the fad with actors, especially after a DUI arrest.

Unfortunately for busy professionals, self identifying in a group or going away for a six week treatment program is not usually an option that is conducive to career growth. While we always recommend that you put your life and health first, there are treatment programs that will allow you to remain at work and help you win the battle with alcohol addiction. Please get the help you need and contact us to learn more about alternative treatments for alcoholism.

As we all have heard, alcoholics are quick to deny that they have a drinking problem and as we’ve discussed in previous posts, functioning alcoholics don’t realize they are in the grasp of alcohol until it is too late. It’s unfortunate because it can mean the destruction of their career, family life, social networks and their own health.

Many managers are able to easily observe a workplace problem or opportunity and take an objective look to come up with unique ways to solve an old problem. I challenge you today to apply this same business thinking to your drinking. Let’s analyze the impact that your own drinking may be having on you and your organization.

For example according to The National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information you:

• Are far less productive.
• Use three times as many sick days.
• Are more likely to injure yourself or someone else.
• Are five times more likely to file worker’s compensation claims.

According to the Department of Labor and a study conducted in Ohio, the following improvements in job-related performance were found in companies that addressed alcohol abuse prevention in the workplace:

• 91 percent decrease in absenteeism.
• 88 percent decrease in problems with supervisors.
• 93 percent decrease in mistakes in work.
• 97 percent decrease in on-the-job injuries.

So if you won’t listen to your colleagues, your family and friends; sit down and think of the positive impact that a new life which keeps alcohol in-check might bring to your business and yourself.

You may not even need to leave your home or work to get help. A number of new treatments like the Freedom From Alcohol Method® are available. Through the use of anti-craving medication and counseling, you can receive confidential treatment to help you abstain or lessen alcohol’s grip on your health and behavior – and take your life back from alcohol.

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.

Magnificent Desolation is not only the title of Astronaut, Buzz Aldrin’s new book, but a feeling very familiar to those plagued by alcoholism. In his new tome, Buzz Aldrin, a hero to millions and the 2nd man to walk on the moon, reveals the ugly truth about his decline into alcoholism.

Mr. Aldrin’s tale is a familiar one: he struggled to adjust to new challenges in his life and a new-found lack of purpose. He, as many alcoholics do, felt he did not have a problem and then chose to ignore it. After his divorce in 1975, he rarely ventured out; except to buy food and alcohol.

In the struggle for your own life and control over alcohol, it’s important to realize that you are not alone, you are worthy of compassion and a new future. Even national heroes like Mr. Aldrin have walked the same path as you and have cleared the fog and found their way again. Although Mr. Aldrin was a celebrity, he was so consumed and his battle well known; he took the extraordinary step of 28 days of in-patient treatment.

While effective, in-patient treatment can be a barrier to those that do not want publicity or cannot “drop out” for a month or more. It’s important to note that new treatments like the Freedom From Alcohol® Method, are available. Through the use of anti-craving medication and counseling, you can still participate in your life while receiving confidential treatment to help you abstain or lessen alcohol’s grip on your health and behavior.

Freedom From Alcohol® happens to be more than the name of this site. It is a method and process that we employ to help people do exactly that – break free from alcohol.

If you think alcohol is playing a leading role in your life, the most important thing you can do is to listen to your body, how does it feel? Can you at least say you do not like how you feel?

Can you, will you – set your endlessly busy mind aside and get help before you have fallen completely into its progressive, tightening grip?

Alcohol addiction, alcoholism, or excessive drinking and its effects on health slowly gets worse over time; and often the person falling into its grasp is not aware of their path, or the pain and suffering inflicted on loved ones.

So if you are reading this post in a moment of strength and honest self-evaluation, please do one or more of these six things today to reclaim your life from alcohol:

1. Decide that you want to take control of your life again.
2. Take the alcohol screening test.
3. Think of the life you want and not the next drink
4. Believe in yourself!
5. Get inspired! Read Alcohol Success Stories.
6. Get help. Contact me or another healthcare practitioner today.

Ever since I was a young man in college, I dreamt of a life dependent on alcohol. Yes sir, work hard and party hard. Long days in the office with longer happy hours and a few two-martini lunches peppered in were for me. Loss of focus, trembling, night sweats and alienation of my family and friends were exactly what I had on my goal sheet.

Of course the preceding paragraph is written ‘tongue-in-cheek’; however, if you’ve known an alcoholic or someone who just called themselves “A Drinker” you can probably identify with this paragraph. Because of its progressive nature, alcoholism is particularly damaging and deadly because those affected have the illusion that they are in control. They say things like, “I don’t need to drink- I just like to drink.”

So some pertinent questions one who drinks excessively should ask themselves are:

• When did I stop designing and planning my life?
• And how did I become a drinker?
• Is this happiness?
• Is this the life I want?

There are no easy solutions, but what’s important for all of us, is critical for someone fighting addiction to alcohol: Focus on the life you want.

Focus not on your failures, the addiction or cravings, but on the life that you want to regain. Lay out a strategy. Write down your goals and the steps required to reach them. Think about how reaching those goals and how becoming free from alcohol would make you feel and how it would enhance the quality of your relationships and your career.

Alcohol dependence and craving is not easy to tackle on your own. There are many alcohol treatment plans available. Find one that is right for you and take action. Get help today and focus on your new tomorrow – now!

With the admission of US Representative John Sullivan of Oklahoma and Patrick Kennedy of Rhode Island that they are again facing a battle with alcohol, there has been a new discussion of HFA’s or High Functioning Alcoholics. Most alcoholics are not living on the street but are, to the outside observer, a productive member of society.

HFA, Functioning Alcoholic, or Functioning Alcoholism are not conditions or a diagnosis, but merely descriptions of the progressive nature of Alcoholism.

These terms are usually used to describe someone that is consuming alcohol at dangerous levels, yet they don’t display the typical signs of intoxication due to the body’s slow build up of tolerance to alcohol. They are usually well liked, productive and very few may realize that they have a problem at all. Slowly, as the levels of alcohol needed to incite a “high” in the alcoholic increase, their ability to be productive wanes and they begin to show more outward signs of withdrawal; including urges to drink more frequently.

As is true for any addiction, the alcoholic or excessive drinker has to want help before treatment can be effective. Because the effects of alcoholism slowly get worse, most deny that they have a problem with alcohol, and those who are functioning alcoholics will need to find their bottom before treatment can be successful. For some it can be the first sign of tremors or friends or loved ones’ finally confronting them with their concerns.

If you suspect that someone you care about is drinking more than they should, seek more information about alcoholism and have a frank open conversation about your concerns. And if you a professional worried about the stigma of in-patient care and your patient is ready to seek help, consider confidential outpatient options for alcohol treatment.

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.

As alcoholics, we have experienced the sheer malevolent power of addiction. The disease of alcoholism takes prisoners and when it remains untreated, many will succumb to its destructive capacity. Experts call it a progressive illness since the more one abuses alcohol the worse their overall condition will become. It simply becomes progressively worse for the untreated, unfortunate alcoholic who lacks the constitution or support systems to fight back. Continue Reading »