Problem Drinking
People drink alcohol for a number of reasons. Essentially alcohol is a mood altering drug that is pretty fast working resulting in a feeling of relaxation and lowering of inhibitions. Unfortunately it also affects our decision making skills, co-ordination and driving ability. Prolonged use can lead to serious illness and mental damage.
People feel like they gain things from drinking - that's why they do it. For example they might feel an increased sense of confidence, more friendship, fun, fitting in with others, forgetting about worries etc but the downside is when it becomes out of control and people lose family respect, causes money issues, affects health, work and relationships suffer.
Alcohol is frequently used for it's relaxant like effects and dependence on alcohol can often arise out of a person's lack of ways to manage anxiety.
For some of us the constant voice in our head as we talk to ourselves can be less than helpful reminding us of all the things that have happened in our life, all life’s failures, how rubbish our relationship are, how we are in the wrong job, the debt we are in, how fat we are, how we never quite measured up to all that promise and expectation etc. That nagging voice just loves to remind us of all our shortcomings and worries and some drink to silence it and to relieve ourselves of the constant chatter.
For some people they believe that drinking is the way to cope with life. It temporarily removes us from the pain or uncertainty. Of course there is another part of us that wishes we didn’t have to do it but for the person who drinks to excess by binge drinking (alcohol abuse) or by drinking every day (alcohol dependence) that is their strategy – the way they do things and they have to pay the consequences but what the heck I’ll just have one more drink.
Peoples reasons (excuses) for drinking will range from I drink because I need Dutch Courage to get through situations, I am bored, I am trapped by events in my life, I can’t relax in group situations, I do it to fit in with my friends, drinking suppresses my anger or frustration, I am worried or concerned about things, I am confused about what decisions to take, I am hurting, I have been rejected, I am happy, I am sad. We can come up with so many reasons to drink to excess but they all have one thing in common – we drink to change the way we feel and silence the negative voice in my head long enough to forget about them and to relax.
In my experience people that become problem drinkers, more often than not, have some or many of these underlying issues. Generally they are not happy with themselves, not happy in their relationships or not happy in their jobs. Maybe they have a combination of all three. They may or they may not be aware of the significance of these and the reasons why they drink to excess. The reasons will be unconscious and they will not see them linked to why they drink.
In the meantime, our health deteriorates (we risk our lives), our finances are depleted, our relationships may suffer, our work suffers and we may lose our jobs so we beat ourselves up more, talk more negatively to ourselves and drink more and so the cycle of alcohol dependency or abuse has begun.My approach is to always address the underlying reasons why someone would choose to drink to excess. If I can help to get people feeling better about themselves than they are more likely to gain control of their drinking habits.
It is not simply a factor of using short term thinking to use hypnosis to get someone to refuse drink or drink less; it is a question of addressing the real motivators that are often just simmering under the surface. Hypnotherapy is a wonderful way of gaining quick access to these issues and used in conjunction with an alcohol reduction programme is an excellent way of tackling the problem.
If you believe that your drinking is adversely affecting your life then please do something about it by at least getting in touch with me as that is the first step to recovery.
For Hypnotherapy Birmingham problem drinking or alcohol abuse ring me on 0121 707 3588