The treatment to stop drinking requires you first of all really understand what exactly your problem is.

This sounds easy enough. Your problem is just drinking too much, right?

Yes, and you need to be more specific and understand when does the problem happen, how much do you drink and who with etc.

What exactly do you need to do with your drinking? Is it to just stop forever or to simply moderate drinking. Or to avoid certain situations? Some of this will become clearer as you get help. However, these are questions you can start with.

Once you have done this the next thing is to work out your current financial and physical situation. This will let you know what are the realistic options you can avail yourself of. Do you have money for a counsellor or inpatient treatment? Do you have the time and in fact ability to go and spend time away from your work and family etc? These are the kinds of questions you can ask.

Finally, a little bit about your personal beliefs. Are you comfortable going to a group or would you prefer an individual treatment to stop drinking. You always have to start with you.

Wherever you live in the world, you can of course see your medical practitioner They can give you immediate advice and refer to you services within their establishment or outside. Then, find out if your local or State Government has resources to help people with alcohol problems. There is often a support line run by government agencies which you can call for more advice.

Other treatment options do become more expensive – including private hospitals both inpatient and outpatient facilities. There are some religious organisations which run free or low cost interventions.

Another option is the Give Up Alcohol course we have developed which allows you to do everything from your home at a fraction of the cost of inpatient private treatment. The course has been developed together with 5 experts who have treated people with alcohol addiction issues using both conventional and alternative approaches.

Many people from around the world have benefitted from this course available at http://www.alcoholfreesociallife.com

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

As many readers of the blog and customers of the Give Up Alcohol course are based in Australia, I thought I would outline some specific resources for your region which can help you take control of your drinking.

The first step applies to you wherever you live. It is to go and see your physician and discuss your drinking issues. This will obviously in strict confidence and is an important first step as your doctor can let you know whether the clinic or the local medical authority has some specific counselling or resources you can take advantage of.

It is also important to visit your doctor to get an initial idea as to whether you might be physically addicted to alcohol as it might not be safe to go ‘cold turkey’.

If you are looking for alcohol addiction help Australia,  please visit this link from the Australian Drug Information Network, which has links to specific solutions offered by your regional or State Government: http://www.adin.com.au/content.asp?Document_ID=38

This will give you resources for residential and non-residential treatment centres in your area. Some may be government sponsored or private. You can check out the relevant centres online. There are also service directories for your region with a list of different services available.

It can be a little bit of digging around is needed to find something relevant but it may be worth it. Alternatively you can call your State or local Government’s health department and ask them for relevant resources.

Another solution is to look at our Give Up Alcohol course which many people in Australia have used and benefitted from. The advantage of this, alongside these other resources listed above, is that you can do this work from the comfort of your own home, without shame and embarrassment and begin right away. The link below will give you more information.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

 If you are seriously considering quitting drinking, then there are a few ways you can go about this.

The first one is to finally get to the point where you have had enough of the negative effects of alcohol and you won’t accept it anymore. Until you get to this point, it may be difficult to get this resolve.

Start, by thinking and remembering all of the negative consequences of your drinking – the hangovers, the headaches, the wasted money, the calories and beer gut, the bad behaviour and black-outs etc. Find whatever is relevant to you. Then play it in your mind several times until you can start to feel that now is the time to make a change.

The thing which stops people quitting drinking and staying quit is that eventually once they have gone through a period of time without drinking, in their mind come back the pleasant feelings and memories of drink. They have forgotten about the negative consequences. Your job is to keep these negative consequences with you all the time, so you can use them to overcome temptation.

You will literally be grounded and rooted in your decision to quit drinking. If not, you might be swayed quite easily.

Another thing when you are starting out in this new life is to try and keep temptation away for the first period. Throw away all alcohol in your house and avoid going to bars and clubs for a short period of time. You will of course need to find alternatives and you won’t be able to avoid everything.

And of course the number one thing is to see your medical practitioner before you start so as to check you are not physically addicted as it may not be safe to completely withdraw if this is the case. Also, your doctor may be able to refer you to other resources to help you stop drinking.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

…think to yourself about what are some of the benefits of you giving up.

When you reach for a drink, you will automatically be thinking about what alcohol is giving you – e.g. relaxation, feeling good etc. If you are out one evening with friends in a bar, or at home when others are drinking glasses of wine, then the temptation for you to also participate will be there.

But if you know in advance what some of the reasons for you giving up alcohol are, then you are best prepared to avoid these temptations and stick to your goal of quitting drinking:

1. Reduce your calorie intake -

both the direct drinking and the hunger cravings which heavy drinking can produce, result in your calorie intake increasing. Instead you can be free of this

2. No more hangovers!

If you can visualise the following morning and waking up fresh and healthy rather than with a huge headache and thirst and feeling ill and sick every time you move, you will experience a difference.

3. The money you will be saving

Just think about the cost not just of the actual drinks themselves but everything that goes around it, the extra food and snacks etc. That will save you some money especially if you mix in lower cost soft drinks also

4. Be proud of yourself and your behaviour!

By not just thinking of giving up alcohol but actually doing it, you will no longer have to be embarrassed about what you did when you were drunk, or trying to recall if you said anything bad to anybody. You will know because you will remember everything!

5. Finally for good measure, less wasting of your precious time. And focusing on what you want rather than relying on alcohol to numb the pain.

So when you have these reasons clearly in the front of your mind, when you are tempted or someone else tempts you, you will be able to tell them – thanks but no thanks. Then you can say to them ‘If you are thinking of giving up alcohol…’

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

About 21% of all adults in California (5.8 million) are binge drinkers according to the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. As a reminder – the Department says binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks for men, or four or more drinks for women, on the same occasion at least once during the past month. Over 2.2 million Californians meet the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse.

This is a shocking statistic. According to the San Fransisco Chronicle in June 2008, alcohol problems cost the State $36bn a year in , injuries, health care costs, lost productivity and other social impacts.

So, if you are one of those suffering from this what are the immediate steps you can take?

I have just been reading a book by John Bird, the founder of The Big Issue – a magazine which is sold by homeless people in the UK which has helped many people turn their lives around. In his book, ‘How To Change Your Life In 7 Steps’,  a couple of his chapters are relevant:

1. Start with 3% – meaning try and take the changes to your life with alcohol step by step and don’t try and change everything at once. What is the first single step you can take to turn your life around?

Perhaps it is speaking with your medical practitioner, or speaking to a friend or trusted loved one. Or maybe just making a diary of when you have been drinking.

The key is to start asap and not expect to change your life overnight.

2. Stop Thinking Like A Victim

This means blaming other people for your problems and your current situation or thinking everything is ‘unfair’. Or identifying and almost being proud of where you are in life even though you are unhappy.

Taking responsibility for your actions is the issue and whilst you may need some assistance in terms of advice or support, you are responsible for your actions and you must not forget that.

So stop making excuses or blaming others for your alcohol issues – whether that is your boss, your spouse, the economy, your perceived lack of options etc.

Once you start making a change in your thinking, you can start changing your behaviour and can investigate options to work on your drinking issues.

The most important thing is not to ignore it, avoid it and the best thing is always to take positive action towards dealing with your alcohol problems one step at a time.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

If you have a problem with your drinking, the temptation can be for you to address this issue ‘when you are ready’. When for example you have finished your project, the kids are back at school, you have finished your exam etc. Whatever the reason is.

Some of this could also apply to the situations and especially people you will be with. For example, if I wait a couple of weeks, Bob who pressures me to drink will be away and it will be easier.

This is a temptation which causes you to overlook one thing – you can handle pretty much anything thrown at you. Of course, it is important to plan in advance and maybe look at alternatives to your behaviour but you can adapt and you can deal with whatever comes up which might challenge you to drink.

For example, one woman e-mailed me and told me how after taking my course she was finally able to control her drinking for the first time in 20 years. Her birthday celebrations, Christmas, New Year and family reunions were all in the same time period. You might think it would be better to start this period in cutting down on drinking because there would be less pressure to drink and more time for yourself.

However she said that ‘there is never a good time and if I can get through this busy and social period I can conquer anything.’

And she was both amazed and really proud waking up the day after her birthday without a hangover – the first time in 20 years. But until she started it, she couldn’t do it.

And I read in a book recently about the Frank Sinatra song ‘New York - there is a line saying ‘if I can make it here, I can make it anywhere’. The same can be said that maybe during the seemingly toughest times with drink, if you can make it then to either stop or moderate your drinking, you can make it at anytime and any place.

So please go ahead and start working on moderating your alcohol. Visit my website (the link is on the right hand side) for additional resources to help you.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

In this article, I would like to highlight some resources for Australian readers who want to stop drinking alcohol or give up drinking for a while.

I was doing some research recently and found out that according to a major study published in August 2010, alcohol problems cost Australia $36bn each year. The Australian Education and Rehabilitation Foundation (AER Foundation) released the Range and Magnitude of Alcohol’s Harm to Others report which had some worrying statistics in it.

Almost a third (29 per cent) of the adult population report being negatively affected by the drinking of someone who was known to them.

On top of this the report goes into more worrying detail about the specific costs heavy alcohol drinking is doing to Australia.

However, there is help at hand. Of course there is the AlcoholFreeSocialLife.com course which has been successfully used by many Australians to help cut down or even stop drinking depending upon the person’s needs. I remember receiving an e-mail from a 38 year old Australian woman who thanks to the course had not had a drink over her birthday to Christmas and New Year period (which were all close together). It was a major achievement for her as over the past 20 years, during most of this period, she would get really drunk and would then feel very guilty and bad after this. Please visit the link on the right if you would like more information on this.

During my research, I also came across many resources for Australians who want to stop drinking or give up alcohol for a while.

There is an official Federal Australian Government website on alcohol which lists the phone numbers of the relevant State Government departments which can help you if you have an alcohol problem and need external support:

http://www.alcohol.gov.au/

The Australian Drug Foundation has a lot of information on what alcohol actually is and how it affects you. This includes information on the long-term effects and how it affects women differently to men etc. There is a section on treatment as well:

http://www.druginfo.adf.org.au/druginfo/drugs/drugfacts/alcohol.html

Again, another website with a detailed breakdown of resources by State is the Australian Drug Information Network:

http://www.adin.com.au/content.asp?Document_ID=38#nt

What I did find through my research was that a lot of the official Australian regional, federal and non-profit alcohol resources are quite detailed and policy specific or focusing on interventions. The AlcoholFreeSocialLife.com course is aimed for someone with a drinking problem to be able to work on their issues on their own (after seeing their medical practitioner of course) which coul explain why the course has been so popular with Australians.

However, if you are suffering from alcohol issues anywhere in Australia the time to deal with this is now so you can get yourself off the statistics list of people affected by alcohol issues and most importantly people affecting others through their drinking of alcohol. You can call  the relevant government department in your State and see how they can help you or just see your medical practitioner to get something started.

So you really can stop drinking in Australia or give up drinking for a while or just moderate and stay in control of your drinking. It may seem like a difficult challenge but it is definitely possible!

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

As we enter another New Year, you might start thinking once more about your alcohol issues. How much and how often have you been drinking in 2010 and what do you want to do in 2011?

This is why you might have New Year’s Resolutions. As you are probably well aware, a lot of these have not worked in the past. What will make this different in 2011?

The first thing is to work out exactly what you want. I have noticed some people really want to give up alcohol forever but feel under pressure or even ashamed to admit this because of the effect they believe it will have on other people. They would rather keep deinking too much than risk potentially offending others - whether that is their long-term partner or friends, colleagues, business clients etc.

Other people feel pressured into giving up but they do want to continue drinking. Still other people are somewhere inbetween the two.

The absolute key thing is to work out a goal – it could even be a short-term thing – say 30 days – of giving up or cutting down and most importantly – make a decision. This is the difference between an actual change and wishing or seeing what happens. You make it happen – in advance.

Once you have made a firm decision, things are much easier to achieve.

So, in 2011, why not plan for January 2011, what is your objective with alcohol? It might just be making a start – such as booking in an appointment with your physician to discuss your issues and getting a health check-up before you start making changes (always the first thing I advise anyone to do). It also might just be for January, to start noting down where and when you drink, and making some notes around this.

Or cutting down 1 drink per week. Alternatively you might want to cut out one whole day of drinking a week for January 2011 and plan alternative activities for that time.

Whatever it is, you just need to work out one clear and specific thing which is easy to understand and then make a decision and stick to it. You can then make a decision for February 2011 and so on, building month by month on the progress you are making.

Please post your New Year’s Resolutions with alcohol here.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

A lot of things we do everyday are habits – we do almost unconsciously without thinking about them. The same goes for drinking. We reach for a drink or when we go to a bar or at dinner time, we follow the same patterns without even realising we are doing them.

So one absolute critical thing for you to start doing in relation to alcohol is for you to actually at the end of each day or the next day is to review your situation with alcohol the day before. How much alcohol did you drink and more importantly what was the situation or context behind it?

What were the steps you took to drink? E.g. if you drink wine at the dinner table what is the process you follow? E.g. you prepare some of the food and then you set the dinner table and put the glasses of wine out etc. By knowing this you will probably find you do things in a certain order or a certain way which leads to you drinking – e.g. if the bottle is there in front of you, you might as well have a glass. Just by becoming aware of this and changing something – e.g. the order in which you do things or by leaving the wine bottle in the kitchen could change your emphasis on drinking.

The same goes for when you drink alcohol when outside the home? Are there specific times when you drink more than others? E.g. if you start your night out at 6pm do you end up drinking more than if you start at 8pm? It may be because you eat before you go out or have other things to do, you drink less. So you can try and change specific things about your drinking.

The same goes for the people you are with and the moods you are in. By doing a review when you really think about what happened before, during and after you drank, you can realise the things which might have triggered your drinking in the first place. E.g. if you feel tense after work, perhaps you can do something else immediately after work – e.g. hit the gym and then go for a  drink later on rather than immediately go for a drink.

This is the power of review and reflection. The basic essence is more awareness of your drinking habits and patterns. Once you know what these are, you can work on changing them.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.

One of the biggest challenges you will face when you are in the middle of a drinking episode or period of your life is feeling stuck, unable to do anything and also not having the awareness to even know you are in a situation.

You may not realise that you are doing the exact same actions you did previously which led you to drink heavily. You might not know that taking a long deep breath or thinking of the consequences of being drunk or knowing what it is you are actually avoiding – that knowing these things can make a significant change.

But this awareness is key. It can be called reflection – thinking about your life and what you have done in the last day or days and then comparing this with what you want and also what worked and didn’t work. You may have done this with work in performance reviews – both for yourself and also your company.

The same must now go for your personal life and in particular your drinking. There are many questions you can ask yourself, including:

The Basics

How much did you drink, what drinks at what time?

Why did you drink so much?

More Detailed

What was the process you use to drink? I.e. do you have a specific drinking ritual – e.g. same time, same place or when someone has said something to you etc.

If you had to explain your drinking to someone else, writing on a piece of paper – how would you map your drinking.

Comparison

How would you compare this process with when you didn’t drink heavily?

What is the difference between when you do and don’t drink heavily?

This is key. There might be subtle differences to do with things like nutrition – what you ate or didn’t eat that day, sunlight and mood, who you were with, where you were or were not.

Some things which cause heavy drinking could be as simple as going to a different bar or eating certain foods. Other times could be much more complicated – e.g. having to deal with something you feel uncomfortable about.

By reflecting and asking yourself questions as above, as well as your own questions, you can start to understand why you are drinking and learn how to control and stop your drinking as needed.

Click here to check out my tools and resources to help you take control of your drinking.