Drinking and Alcohol

Historically, drinking alcohol has been, and still is (in general) a very acceptable social habit. From a young age we are conditioned into thinking that “to enjoy ourselves” we need to have a drink, or drinking makes the party “flow better”. Equally, when we go out, a drink is normally associated in some way, either before, during, or after our activity.

Advertising alcohol is a multi million pound business with each brand trying to tell you that they will make the good times - just that little bit better. In 1999 the revenue from Alcohol sales was £32.5 Billion, with an advertising budget of £181 million. As a comparison, £72 million was spent on soft drinks. So, to understand why we drink, we need to understand what we drink and what it does to us, and I make no apology for the content you’re about to read. However, please do persevere through the fact and figures, as there is light at the end of the tunnel !

The Facts

Alcohol is a carbohydrate, a relative of sugar, and is therefore a major source of energy for drinkers, supplying up to half of a heavy drinker's energy requirements in a day. It is created by yeasts which in the absence of oxygen get the energy they need by converting sugar to alcohol. Alcohol is absorbed rapidly from the stomach - in five to ten minutes without food. The effects last several hours, related to body weight which is why many women are more affected by the same dose than men.

One unit is 8 grams of alcohol - equivalent to half a pint of normal beer, cider or lager, a standard glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits. After four or five units, most people feel relaxed and comfortable. Eight units can cause slurred speech and clumsiness, with exaggerated emotions. Higher doses cause double vision, dizziness, staggering, loss of balance, nausea, vomiting. Beyond that alcohol can cause blindness, loss of consciousness, and loss of memory for events at the time.

The biggest danger is from injury caused by intoxication. In 1990 15% of all road accidents were alcohol related and 32% of all pedestrians killed on the road were under the influence of alcohol. Drinkers may also choke on their own vomit while unconscious. Although such sudden deaths are uncommon, this is a real hazard in police cells or in a side room in an emergency ward.

A hangover may follow, caused by dehydration and toxic metabolites. Mixing alcohol with other depressant drugs such as barbiturates or heroin is particularly dangerous as the effects are additive.

Alcohol has many other effects on the body, which include.

Stomach irritation - can cause ulcers Liver damage - alcohol is destroyed by the liver but liver cells are also casualties

Mouth and throat - cancers are more common in heavy drinkers Nutritional damage caused by neglect of a proper diet

Brain damage caused directly by alcohol in the blood - in severe cases causing Korsakoff's psychosis, a permanent memory loss

Alcohol kills more than 30,000 people a year in the UK. It is the third commonest cause of death in men in their fifties.

Cirrhosis is a major cause of death, but once diagnosed it is often too late to prevent death and 30% diagnosed die in a year.


What is Cirrhosis?

As the liver becomes progressively damaged it is no longer able to do its job as a food store, as a maker of digestive enzymes, and as a waste-disposal unit for toxins. The result is that the liver becomes enlarged with fatty tissue, the person becomes ill and jaundiced (yellow) and blood pressure rises in blood vessels draining into the liver, causing for example life-threatening bleeds of veins lining the gullet. This happens in 40% of those with cirrhosis. These bleeds cause sudden, violent, catastrophic vomiting. Death follows in minutes in almost half of those who are unfortunate enough to have one.


So is there a safe limit?

The World Health Organisation and governments have recently revised their guidelines about so-called safe limits for alcohol consumption in both men and women. The current accepted limits vary from expert to expert but are around 21 units for men and 14 units per week for women. The problem is that these are general guides and do not tell us what the actual damage to an individual's health will be.


Alcohol can be good for you!

Evidence shows that alcohol in moderation increases life expectancy. This discovery was made following a series of large-scale studies comparing, for example the health of teetotallers with moderate and heavy drinkers. One of the protective effects appears to be on the heart and blood supply, with a reduction in strokes and heart attacks. At first the beneficial effect was attributed to some mysterious ingredients in red wine, but it is now know that the therapeutic action is related to alcohol itself, independent of the method of production.

The discovery that drinking alcohol can be good for health brought alarm calls from those concerned that the news would encourage abuse. It certainly undermined the case for absolute abstention.


So, what sort of Drinker are you?

There are two main patterns of drinking : regular and binge. The regular drinker drinks every day or most days. The binge drinker rarely sees himself as an alcoholic because he often goes for days or weeks without touching alcohol. However once he starts, he cannot stop. As far as the medical profession is concerned, a Binge drinker is an Alcoholic.

Binge Drinking

Binge drinking is becoming more and more popular, the effect of the new licensing laws will have to examined to see if there are any changes in this habit. Generally affecting the 16-24 year old age band, and reportedly costing the government £20 billion a year with 17 million working days lost to hangovers and drink-related illness each year. The annual cost to employers is estimated to be £6.4 billion while the cost to the NHS is in the region of £1.7bn. Billions more are spent clearing up alcohol-related crime and social problems. In addition, alcohol-related problems are responsible for 22,000 premature deaths each year, and 1.2 million incidents of alcohol-related violence a year. These figures are thought to be conservative. Around 40% of A&E admissions are alcohol-related. Between midnight and 5am that figure rises to 70%. Alcohol-related accidents and illnesses land around 150,000 people in hospital each year.


The Slippery slope

A habit may start with social drinking over a meal, before progressing with higher consumption. As the liver gets used to destroying alcohol, the person needs more to achieve the same level of intoxication. Typically the next step may be private drinking, in secret, drinking alone at any time of the day or night.

In advanced cases the person wakes feeling jittery and vulnerable, and has alcohol instead of breakfast "to calm the nerves". A classic sign of a deteriorating situation can be when the person stops eating breakfast, partly because the stomach is often so raw from alcohol-induced irritation the night before.


The Workplace

Alcohol is the most widely abused drug at work and is the commonest cause of drug-related sickness and lost productivity. It is surprising therefore that so few companies address the issue directly.


Do I have a drinking problem?

Answer YES or NO to the following questions.

• Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days?
• Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking?
• Ever switched your drink to another, hoping that this would keep you from getting drunk?
• Ever made your drinks weak? Or just drank beer? Or not drink cocktails? Or only drank on weekends?
• Have you had to have a drink in the morning during the past year?
• Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking?
• Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble?
• Have you wondered why you were not like other drinkers who can take it or leave it
• Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year? Be honest! 
• Has your drinking caused trouble at home? Many drinker say that it was the people or problems at home that made them drink.
• Do you ever try to get "extra" drinks at a party because you do not get enough?
• Do you have a "few" before you start out?
• Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to ?
• Have you missed days of work because of drinking?
• Have you "called in sick" when the truth was that you were hung-over or drunk.
• Do you have "blackouts"? A "blackout" is when there are drinking hours or days we cannot remember.
• Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink? Many of us started to drink because drinking made life seem better, at least for a while.

If you’ve answered YES to four or more questions then you are probably having trouble with your drinking.


Why do I drink?

From an analytical point of view drinking is one of the five oral satisfactions, Smoking, Biting nails, Eating, and Moaning being the other four. It is a deep seated urge within any human being to drink - but not necessarily alcohol. For most people, the initial reason is because alcohol reduces your inhibitions and seemingly allows you to enjoy yourself more. These experiences of induced enjoyment, or happiness at parties, nights out are remembered by your subconscious and are triggered when a similar situation arises. You effectively forget how to enjoy yourself without alcohol because you are bombarded with advertising, peer pressure, and subconscious urges to have that drink.

In this way it is very similar to smoking, where certain situations times and places will trigger the thought of having a cigarette. First thing in the morning, after a meal, with a cup of tea. You would naturally think of going out to the pub, with drinking alcohol. Going to a party and taking your favourite tipple with you.

However, there are many sides to drinking. It can be a learnt response if your parents used to drink (not necessarily heavily) you will find it more acceptable to drink, possibly to excess, than someone whose parents didn’t. It can be used as a means to alleviate boredom, drinking alone, at home, or in private can give an illusion of satisfaction, but is generally a sign of an underlying problem elsewhere.

Escapism

Why do we really drink? It’s not because it makes us a better person, but because it makes us different. The immediate effect of drinking is sedative and produces,

1. A relaxing effect
2. Reduction in tension
3. Lowering of inhibitions
4. Impairment of concentration
5. Slower reflexes
6. Impaired reaction times
7. Reduced coordination
8. Excess production of urine (diuretic effect)

The liver is working overtime to remove the toxins as we drink, and the more we drink, the more efficient the liver gets at removing these toxins. The result is that we need more for the same “Buzz”

If we’re having problems at work or at home, money or relationship issues, we can resort to some “time out” to forget these problems, if only for a short while. A major downside though, is one other affect of alcohol, is as a depressant, leaving you feeling worse than you did without any alcohol at all, plus possibly a hangover due to dehydration and toxins in your blood.

It also acts as a stimulant, so although your mind is depressed, your body systems are running overtime – just check your heart rate sober, and after a few drinks. This induces feelings of irritability and restlessness.

As a stimulant it also triggers feelings of hunger which need to be satisfied, generally with anything that’s available. Bearing in mind, alcohol is a major supply of “bad” carbohydrates (those that don’t do anything useful), this creates problems with weight control and nutrition, especially vitamin B1 (Thiamine) deficiency (linking in to Cirrhosis).

Essentially drinking it is a learnt response to a given situation and a powerful Habit. Ask yourself these questions –

How close are your answers to the ones below?

• A bad day at work? - Looking forward to a drink in the evening?
• Down the pub tonight? - Enough money for drinks and the obligatory food afterwards?
• Out on the town? - Must organise a taxi because I can’t drive afterwards?
• Drinking on Friday nights? - Don’t have to get up in the morning?
• My turn to drive? - I can’t enjoy myself, what’s the point in going out?
• Last night was a bender! - I’m going to stop and never do THAT again!
• Was I really Drunk? - I did WHAT!
• I gave up for a while! - Wow! My drink tasted really strong for a while afterwards!
• I can take it or leave it - I’ll give up tomorrow….
• I don’t really want to do this - I’ll have a drink to calm down!
• I can’t take anymore.. - If I get drunk I’ll forget

You are associating one situation with a probable outcome, and it’s mainly if I have a drink I’ll enjoy myself or shutout my problems. I don’t care if it’s only temporary. It is a habit you have learned, but it is a habit which can be broken.

What is easy to forget is that your body can quite happily cope without any alcohol at all, and will do a much better job without it. It will be more relaxed, more alert, more efficient. It will sleep better and perform better. It is not natural to drink alcohol, nor does it do any good unless taken in moderation. Effectively alcohol is a poison, and all the body wants to do is get rid of it as quickly as possible.


Some alternatives to Hypnosis

Medical intervention can include the use of

Disulfiram (Antabuse®)

On prescription which, once take will make the patient violently sick after the ingestion of alcohol. Essentially you cannot drink whilst on Antabuse®, But, it does not address any other issue. Further psychological help can be found at specialist Drug Addiction centres, again through your G.P.

Individual / Group Therapy and counselling therapies are available through your local G.P. These look at changing your outlook and perception of drinking, and are carried out usually weekly for an hour, and are open ended in length of time in treatment. Often they are provided by outside charities and self–help groups.


Alcoholics Anonymous

provide a support network for those for who wish to abstain altogether, but on a daily basis. Taking one day at a time.

Other Complimentary therapies which provide relaxation and healing can be suitable, depending on your beliefs. These include Reiki, EFT (Emotional Freedom Therapy).

Community Alcohol Service

Available either directly (in your Yellow Pages) or via a referral from your GP. They can provide initial confidential contact, with short term help and referrals to other agencies. They are an excellent place to start, but be aware that appointments may take a while to arrange although they  often have a "drop in" surgery where you can get started.

How can Hypnosis help?

Before going any further you need to ensure is that you truly WANT to do something about your perceived problem and achieve your goal. This goes for any therapy.

A general idea will be given regarding the straightforward help Hypnosis for a Drinking Habit can give, as each client is an individual, with specific unique problems. Hence any therapy would be tailored for that client. Any client with a severe alcohol abuse problem would need to be under the care and supervision of their G.P. and referred to the therapist directly due to the effects of withdrawal (only seen in severe cases).

We need to look at why you are drinking, and you really need to be honest with yourself during an in-depth consultation. To hold back, is counter-productive for your success. Together we would examine the situations where you felt you needed a drink, and the feelings associated with it. A careful look at past history and upbringing will elicit information about your acceptance of drinking, and learnt responses to it.

Next we need to look at why you want to stop or alter your drinking, what benefits there are to you in changing. Equally we would look at the benefits you perceived from drinking in the past and whether you still need any of these, or can let them go. Looking at the negative side of the drinking and how it affected you is also an important issue, really seeing what it has done to you in the past.

At this point it would normally be possible to give sessions of hypnotherapy to increase the beneficial feelings of changing, and reduce or remove the associations you had with your drinking habit. The result would be an immediate positive change in behaviour, leaving the old habits behind and allowing new, beneficial habits to form unhindered.

Not everyone is suitable for straightforward Suggestion Hypnotherapy, and in these cases there is usually an underlying emotional or psychological issue at work which needs finding and removing. If clients have experienced any previous psychological or emotional problems, depression or anxiety, then Analytical Hypnotherapy is recommended.

Essentially when there is a symptom, there must be a cause. Treating the symptom is like putting a sticking plaster on a wound, when the wound itself needs treatment. Hence Hypnoanalysis looks directly at the cause. Once this cause has been found and released, the existing symptoms simply disappear as they have nothing “fuelling” them. The results can be quite profound and life changing.

If the Hypnoanalysis route is agreed upon, then the client will be expecting to look at about six to eight sessions of Hypnoanalysis at weekly intervals. During this time, through hypnosis, the subconscious mind will bring up experiences and emotions which steer inexorably towards the goal of releasing the causes related with the clients’ immediate problem, and also underlying problems as well. It is a complete therapy, not just looking at one issue, but the whole, in a holistic way.

Another way of looking at it is that everyone carries their own suitcases filled with heavy bricks. Bricks of guilt, unhappiness, remorse, sadness, weakness, and others. Each week some of those bricks are thrown away, until ultimately that person can throw away the suitcases as they are of no further use. Your therapist will explain the whole process to you during your initial consultation.

Hypnotherapy can give you the freedom you want from this habit, the realisation as to why you had it, and the path to a happier healthier life.

Contact Rugby Hypnotherapy in total confidence when you are ready to make a change for YOU! Call 01788 333311 for your Free Initial Consultation