A highly developed defence system keeps alcoholics out of touch with reality. Rationalisation, projection and denial eventually make it impossible for them to understand that they have a drinking problem.  In their mind, it’s everyone else that has the problem – not them. The progression of alcoholism causes gross distortion of the memory system. Blackouts, repression and euphoric recall destroy the chemically dependent person’s ability to remember accurately what has happened on any given drinking occasion. Blackouts are chemically induced periods of amnesia.  It is not to be confused with ‘passing out’ or drinking to the point of losing consciousness. To the contrary, during a blackout the alcohol dependent person goes on functioning as if they were aware of what is going on around them and would remember everything that happened. Actually, they remember none of it ever again. It does not seem to be directly related to the amount consumed. An alcoholic, reporting a blackout will often say. “I didn’t have that much to drink”; or those around him will later comment, “I didn’t see him drink that much. I can’t believe there was a blackout”; or even, “He looked fine to me. I could not see any intoxication.” As the illness progresses, blackouts become more frequent, of longer duration, and more predictable as far as the amount of alcohol necessary to induce them is concerned. The time will come when a relatively small amount may cause a blackout, or inversely, large amounts may not. In any case, after blackouts the victim is haunted by such questions as: “How did I get home last night? Or “Did I hurt anybody?  The morning after a severe blackout, it is a common experience for the alcohol dependent person to tremulously check the front bumper of his or her car for signs of a collision or even blood stains.  Not a good way to live! I have come to believe that when blackouts have become episodic in a drinker’s life, they do nothing less than unmistakably indicate that he or she has forever lost the option to drink. When blackouts are chemically induced periods of amnesia, equally ominous and just as deluding times of forgetfulness are provided by what are called repression which, while the results are the same, are psychologically induced. When a memory is so unwanted, so shameful or painful, this autonomic system turns it off for us and we conveniently don’t remember a thing because repression is working overtime. It is obvious how disrupting and damaging blackouts and repression are as they progressively separate alcoholics from the reality of their behaviour. And yet the third condition that distorts the memory system, euphoric recall, must be the most devastating, for it is the greatest single factor contributing to self-delusion. This term describes how alcoholics remember every one of their excessive drinking episodes: that is, euphoricly or happily, and with gross distortion! There is no time when they have been under the influence of alcohol that they are able to recall accurately, and yet they go on believing firmly that they remember everything in complete detail. This type of distortion is vitally important because it involves the entire drinker’s antisocial and destructive behaviour. The average party offers an opportunity to observe how ethyl alcohol works on consciousness and memory. Typically, the first drink in our drinking culture will not perceptibly change any behaviour whatsoever, because tolerance has risen so much. But with the second drink you will begin to notice several things happening. Early in the party there is a very intellectual response to alcohol. Usually all the great problems of the world are discussed and solved. The decibels will start rising. This is because alcohol affects the hearing, so that everybody hears less and talks louder. Then you will notice the quality of the tone changing from normal seriousness or quietness to the gay, the giddy, the laughing and joking. With the third drink the laughter is still louder – that’s because alcohol has reached the part of the brain that controls inhibitions. Once inhibitions are relaxed, behaviour changes. The effect of alcohol on any cell in the human body is to depress that cell. When the cells in the brain are depressed there is a less guarded and more wide-open feeling. This is why alcohol looks like an ‘upper’ when actually it is a depressant.  Most people don’t know this. Then as the depression of the brain continues to the lower areas, the atmosphere changes from highly intellectual to emotional. The lower part of the brain houses our emotional lives: that’s where we feel glad, sad, mad, etc.  In every excessive drinking episode, an alcoholic will only be able to recall euphoric happenings.  The chemical alcohol so affects the brain that in no way can alcoholics remember their slurred words or weaving gait or exaggerated gesticulations or broken sentences. Their recollection is: “I was terrific. Everybody loved me and I did just fine.”  For alcoholics, this area of perception and memory distortion contributes powerfully to the inability to see and appreciate reality and to the failure to recognise and accept the fact that they are on a downward spiral. The time comes when it is no longer relevant to ask whether alcoholics will see that they are sick; the plain fact is that they cannot see that they are sick.  We know they are acutely ill with a condition which will inevitably kill them and which will increasingly impair their emotional, mental and spiritual wellbeing during their final years. A major part of the illness is a progressive emotional disorder which must be significantly reduced if they are to return to any kind of productive, not to mention, happy life, They are the victims of a constantly developing mental mismanagement, which if it progresses, can result in only suicide or early death through liver, kidney, cancer or heart disease. The other reason alcoholics do not receive help is that they refuse to accept it because of their rigid defences and distorted memory patterns. The sicker they get, the more actively they resist intervention. They reach the place where their fatty livers are becoming cirrhotic.  It is then quite obvious that this condition requires intervention from the outside, and it is equally obvious that only a more knowledgeable person on the outside will be able to perform this function. In the meantime, I would suggest helping yourself cope with the rigours of living with a practicing alcoholic by looking at supplementing your diet with an amino acid and a natural relaxant to help you sleep at night. Magnesium can be taken before bed to assist with a deep and restful sleep and helps to reduce stress. Tyrosine Mood Food is necessary for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood. Blues Free is designed to support a better mood. Hydroxytryptophan is needed by the brain to make Serotonin which is the natural happy chemical produced by brain cells and has a controlling effect upon mood and feelings, appetite, sleep, confidence and mental energy. Sleep Eze is another useful sleep enhancer and I use it myself.  Melatonin is best taken at night when the pineal gland is meant to secrete its own melatonin to promote a natural restful sleep and awake refreshed in the morning without that “sleeping tablet hangover”.   I like it because it is not addictive. Everyday Stress Lozenges. These Everyday Stress Lozenges contain all natural passion flower petals to help you relax under pressure. A natural herb with relaxing and calming effects upon the nervous system, to help you perform under pressure without slowing you down. Adrenal Plus Support.  If you support the function of your adrenal glands, you have more chance coping with the everyday pressures of life. Many people suffer with morning fatigue and depression due to sluggish function of the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are 2 small glands that are situated just above the kidneys and when they are working efficiently, they produce extra surges of energising hormones such as cortisol, adrenalin and DHEA to help you face the challenges of the new day. In other words, the adrenal gland hormones increase your resistance to stress and provide the drive and energy to succeed.