“Oh No!” says your poor liver. “I’m not going down that road again.” People constantly ask me why they can’t go back to social drinking after their liver has healed and their brain chemistry has been unscrambled. It’s an addiction and a disease of the emotions and a physical allergy to alcohol. If you broke out in boils all over your face after you ate some strawberries, would you still eat strawberries? Alcohol is a poison and yet, people still persist in trying to drink socially with a toxin that eats away at their brain and their liver and damages other vital organs in the body. Why do alcoholics think they can become social drinkers again? For some, the problem lies with their relatives who, seeing them physically fit again and not having the slightest idea of what alcoholism is all about, actually try hard to persuade the alcoholic to drink again.  “You can handle it provided you take it easy. It is a matter of will power.”  Very bad advice for an alcoholic who is trying to live life without alcohol. For many others, it is the feeling of well-being that accompanies the return of physical health, the feeling that they are missing out on “the good life” and resentment about others who seem to be able to drink without harm. Above all, it is centred on forgetting, or even repressing, just how dreadful their alcoholic life had become and how unmanageable their lives had become. For all these would-be social drinkers, the fundamental problem seems to be a less than 100% acceptance of being alcoholic and a less than 100% conviction that alcoholics can’t drink. A big factor in relapses is undoubtedly the phenomenon known as “euphoric recall”, which is part and parcel of the alcoholic disease. Alcoholics tend to remember all the good things that happened during their drinking career and try to forget the misery, degradation and wreckage that accompanied the excessive drinking. Perhaps one reason why AA works is because of the constant reminder about these unpleasant facts. However, most of my clients don’t want to go to AA because they fear that everyone will know they have a problem. This is false pride and hinders them from another useful tool to help them stay sober, one day at a time. AA is not the panacea for getting sober and staying sober but it certainly does help a lot of people. Alcoholism is a symptom of another underlying problem and AA can’t help members with a mental illness. Going to an AA meeting does not help the alcoholic suffering with depression, Bipolar 1 & 2, Borderline Personality Disorder, Co-Dependency or a myriad of other mental illnesses that can complicate an alcoholic’s recovery. Sometimes, older, sober members of AA are a hindrance rather than a help to the new alcoholic member by telling them to leave off their medications and just come to meetings.  Deadly advice. I’ve seen people die when they have gone off their anti-depressants or mood disorder medications. There are many resources available to the alcoholic to help him or her achieve a successful sobriety. I have seen many alcoholics over the years that are still sober today. How do I know?  They keep in touch with me on a regular basis. They have adhered to the program they were first introduced to when they commenced counselling. They also take their supplements, including Tyrosine Mood Food and L-Glutamine, to help balance their brain chemistry.   L-Glutamine supports efficient brain function and is the body’s most potent antioxidant and detoxifier. Tyrosine is necessary for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy, stable mood. We also recommend Magnesium Ultra Potent to help them reduce stress and assist with a deep and restful sleep without having to use drugs or alcohol. LivaTone Plus supports phase 1 and phase 2 detoxification pathways, ensuring optimum detoxification of many toxic substances and also supports liver function and metabolism.   The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.