Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Do you worry about your drinking habits?

I often work with people who express concerns about the amount of alcohol they consume.  There is mounting evidence that alcohol addiction and dependence is growing amongst the middle aged population and there is a high probability that the increasing use of alcohol in our society is contributing to a variety of medical conditions that are becoming more and more life limiting.  For many people alcohol intake is "managed," but with repercussions.  For those who "drink too much" yet who are quite "functional," there is a toll to be paid.  For these drinkers, the all too often hangover, can impact the quality of family relations, one's sense of wellbeing, and the quality of their work.  Self esteem is often eroded by the struggle associated with failed attempts at abstinence and the ability to live fully "in the moment" is severely impaired by frequent reliance on alcohol.  Needless to say, moderate to heavier drinkers are much more likely to suffer from sleep disorders, depression and anxiety.  I can't tell you how many people I see who have gone on antidepressants or anti anxiety medications to relieve the symptoms of depression and anxiety that are actually caused by too much drinking!

While Alcoholics Anonymous and other treatment approaches have been successful in helping many people, there have been some unfortunate unintended consequences that have resulted from these support programs and treatment approaches.  For instance, one of the concepts behind AA  is that "Alcoholism" is a disease.  On the one hand this has been useful in reducing some of the shame associated with the addiction, but on the other hand, it has made it more difficult for many people to deal with their drinking problems because it would suggest that to stop drinking one has to see oneself as having a disease....a disease that will be with you for the rest of your life.  And for you to overcome the effects of the disease you have to learn to fight your addiction one day at a time for the rest of your life.  It is a rather bleak concept.  For some this has been very helpful, (even life saving), but for others, not so much.

In recent years there has been a growing chorus of people who challenge the "disease concept" as the cause of addiction, and instead focus on the substance as the cause of the addiction.  One has to wonder if this isn't a more balanced and a healthier way to conceptualize this addiction.  People who are challenging the disease concept will often note how interesting it is that we don't talk about people suffering from "Heroinism" or people suffering from "Cocainism" so why do we think that people who become addicted to alcohol have a disease that makes it happen when we don't say that about other substance issues?

What I have found is that it is often much easier for people to address their drinking problems constructively if they can focus on the substance as "the problem."  There are several books and websites on this topic that I have found particularly useful that you might want to explore if you are worried about your drinking and want to do something about it.   HelloSundayMorning www.hellosundaymorning.com is a self help site for people who are trying to moderate or abstain from drinking.  It began and comes from Australia but it has people participating from all over the world.  There is a lot of support available on the site and there are many resources as well.  High Sobriety is a book by Jill Stark that you might find interesting as an introductory read.  Feel free to reach out to me if you think I can provide you with any more resources or help.

No comments: