How long will therapy take?
The process of changing your habits towards alcohol is not something that happens overnight. You are learning new skills to replace your old behaviours, and this will take some time. How long it takes of course varies from person to person.
Firstly you have to decide how you will know when you have changed? What will be the signs that you have been successful? These are questions that most people find difficult to answer. Ok, so you don’t drink so much any more, you feel a bit more clear-headed and happier - but have you made the changes in your life that you really wanted at the start?
So, to answer the main question another way - you might well see reductions in your level of consumption within a week or two, but that may not mean you have made enough changes to sustain that improvement.
Usually when people decide to seek help for their alcohol problems, it is not just the actual level of their drinking that bothers them, it’s their emotional problems, their ability to cope with the stress in their lives, the number of crises they create. So reducing consumption is only one part of the overall changes someone might be hoping for.
So perhaps the initial question is a little too vague to be answered accurately. Being more specific in your expectations will lead to more informative answers. So maybe ask some questions like these instead:
“How long will it take me to learn other ways to relax?”
“How soon can I expect to communicate better with my family?”
“When will I be able to get through a whole day without even thinking about a drink?”
“Will I feel that I’m a good person again soon?”
I can share in all the above comments. Been there far too many times. And youâre right folksy: one drink WILL hurt. A lot
Agreed. Drinking makes you lose motivation. I have quit for long periods only to say ” well, one wonât hurt”. It does. How do I keep that FACT in my mind?
Ive just booked a therapy session for next week. Ive pretty much lost everything but my job, which i know if kept can start me going again! So scared that its all falling down!
I agree drink is the worst thing that can happen I am in business and I can tell you all drink makes you loose motivation and as such that is the basis of life. You and I know this. Be strong and lets act for our own benefit
Drink is the worst thing that can happen to anyone!!!!….. Everytime Iâve beaten the demon he comes back to bite me even harder. My lifeâs just a mess again from just before christmas when I decided to have `one beer´!.
If you feel that drinking is taking over your life or you are drinking too much, do something quick ! the longer you leave it the harder it becomes.
Simon.
Hi,
Where to start ? At the age of 15 I lost my father who was 34 to a stroke, my mother who I had been living with is an alcoholic, they were seperated !. By the age of 17 I had been living with my stepmother and her new boyfriend in my fathers house ! I started to experiment with soft drugs and had the odd drink but mostly Hash which lead to LSD and Speed followed by Exstacy. At the age of 19 I began drinking whilst taking drugs and took it to a new level. It then started to affect my personal relationships as I lost friends and began to do things which I would later regret.
At 25 I had gone from talking most drugs and drinking to just Cocaine and Booze, which I still at 35 more or less stick to. During the last 16 years I have gone periods for as long as 9 months without anything niether `Booze or Drugs´, of which during these period i have a complete change of life style ! ie: I get healthy, fit, eat well and tell myself I will never drink again. Unfortunately for me this never last and each time I relapse things become worse than the last time, I lose everything I had built up !. I have been prescribed tablets, gone to therapy and basically gone through all the right channels.
The problem I have is that I am now suffering from the consequences of this life style and have been having problems with depression and violent mood swings making me impossible to live with. Until Christmas I had been sober almost 6 months and this year I have been sober.
I really would like to get through this year without any misshaps and really for the rest of my life, I have lost so much in the past and feel like some support my help me to achieve this.
Please could you give me some advice, many thanks.
Simon.