Online Alcoholism & Addiction Counselling

Most people who are drinking too much, in whatever way, will occasionally ask themselves the question - am I an alcoholic?

It’s a scary question to ask yourself, but as with most things the answer will not be a black or white,

‘yes you’re an alcoholic’ or
‘no you’re not’,

but a shade of grey somewhere in between.

What sort of alcoholic are you?

Binge Drinker

• Irregular over-drinking,
• Monster hangovers,
• Doing embarrassing things you regret,
• Alienating your friends,
• Accidents,
• Days off work,
• Mood swings…

If this sounds like you, then get some help here.

Heavy Drinker

• Very difficult to have a day without alcohol,
• Can’t sleep without drink,
• Drinking alone,
• Guilt,
• Cravings,
• Can’t concentrate,
• Low energy,
• Depression…

Or if this sounds more like you, then contact us here.

Dependent Drinker

• Physical withdrawal,
• Drinking from early in the day, every day,
• Isolation,
• Poor health,
• Unstable work,
• Relationships failing,
• Feeling hopeless & ashamed…

If however, this is who you are, then to start with you’re going to need some medical help to detox your liver - go and see your Doctor, then get in touch with us.

You might be wondering, more simply, how can I stop drinking alcohol? But of course it’s never as simple as that. You’ll need plenty of support, and some clear goals, plus some in-depth understanding of how your own particular addiction works. That’s what online counselling will do for you. Try one session at least, and you’ll see how it can help.

If you do nothing about your problems, then nothing will change.

It’s probably no surprise to some, but here in the UK, we have the biggest cocaine use in Europe.

The consequences of this to the nation’s health (and therefore our National Health Service), are far reaching - depression, anxiety, heart disease, strokes etc.

However, there are many other tragic consequences which you might not be aware of next time you put a rolled banknote up to your nose -

• Colombian manufacturers of cocaine routinely protect their crops with landmines - these account for roughly 1000 maimed or killed locals every year.
• the same manufacturers spray carcinogenic pesticides on their crops, further threatening the lives of the local population.
• 2.7 million people in Colombia have been illegally displaced from their land in the last ten years in order for the drugs cartels to grow coca (the crop used to make cocaine).
• huge areas of tropical rainforest are cut down every year (so producers can keep evading the authorities) throughout the Andean region to make way for coca plants, producing massive soil erosion and flooding.
• vast quantities of chemicals used in the refining process are being dumped illegally - such as Sulphuric Acid, Kerosene, Hydrochloric Acid, Ammonia, Acetone and Ether - all find their way into the local water supply.
• Colombia’s biodiversity accounts for a massive 10% of the world’s species, these are all massively threatened.
• Colombia has become one of the most violent nations in the world.
• the USA is spending roughly $45 billion per year on it’s ‘war against drugs’, surely funds which could be better spent elsewhere, especially when they are now spraying chemical herbicide from the air over massive areas to try and eradicate the coca - affecting local farmland, animals and of course the people.

So you’ve stopped drinking, or maybe you’re just not doing it every day now, and you want to know how to prevent yourself from relapsing, or (if you want to keep it simple) how to make sure you don’t drink today.

Relapse prevention requires some planning, specifically -

• what situations might I encounter that are risky for me? (my triggers)
• how might I deal with my feelings differently?
• what behaviour can I do instead?

You need to identify your internal triggers (like boredom, frustration, loneliness, anxiety etc), and your external triggers (like arguments, bars, other people drinking etc.). Can any of these triggers be avoided? If so, plan how to do that. For those that can’t be avoided, you’ve got to learn to deal with them some other way.

So, what do these triggers mean to you? What beliefs do you hold about them that lead you to drink? A few common beliefs might be -

• “drinking helps me relax”,
• “drinking makes me more confident”,
• “everyone else drinks so that makes it all right for me to drink too”.

What thoughts go through your head when you’re exposed to these triggers? You may not even be aware of these thoughts, they’re so habitual, so you’ll have to listen carefully to your internal dialogue here.

Once you’ve got an idea what some of your automatic thoughts are, you need to learn to challenge them. So for example, the next time you’re feeling stressed and you think “a drink would relax me” you might then say to yourself “yes, it does, but it’ll make me even more nervous and stressed tomorrow”.

Relapse prevention is just knowing about your habits

Of course by the time you’ve got to this stage, you’re probably craving a drink, and you’re thinking about how to get some. You might be arguing with yourself - part of you doesn’t want to get wasted again. You’ve told yourself you’re not doing it any more (or today at least). So here’s when you might start looking for permission, to make it ok:

• “just this time won’t hurt”,
• “I’ll be able to hide it, so no-one will know”,
• “I’m not at work tomorrow, so it doesn’t matter if I’m hungover”
• “I can’t cope with this craving, so I might as well just get on with it”

As far as behaviour goes, we’ve already mentioned avoiding triggers, but another option is distracting yourself (look at our earlier article on ‘how to cope with alcohol cravings‘). Other things you might do are more general - make some new friends, find new things to do with your time, get into the habit of some exercise. Most importantly - find some support, people you can talk to about what’s troubling you.

Try going through our worksheet on Relapse Prevention Strategies.

Remember though, a lapse is not a relapse, just because you might make a mistake, try not to think “oh well, I’ve failed, so obviously I’ll never beat this, I might as well just keep drinking…”