Alcohol kills 3.3 million people worldwide each year, more than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence combined, the World Health Organisation has warned us that alcohol consumption is on the rise.

We’re looking at a huge increase in drinking driving, alcohol fuelled violence and one punch killings by cowardly, inebriated men.

Alcoholics are in denial and they can’t see it and, what is worse, many of those immediately around them can’t see it either.  That is, they cannot really see what is happening, either to these chemically dependent people or to themselves, as the disease progresses.  Families tend to enable the victim by letting them get away with bad behavior. They don’t want others to know just how bad things are on the home front.  The perceived stigma of alcoholism cripples their ability to help their own daughter, son, husband, wife, sister or brother.

As the disease progresses, the alcoholic’s self-image continues to deteriorate and their ego strength ebbs. For many reasons, they are progressively unable to keep track of their own behavior and begin to lose contact with their emotions. They lost control of their emotions years before they get to the stage of losing contact. They cannot feel anything and have numbed their emotions through years of alcohol abuse.

Their defence systems continue to grow so that they can survive in the face of their problems. The greater the pain, the higher and more rigid the defences become, and this whole process is unconscious. Alcoholics do not know what is happening inside of themselves. Finally, they actually become victims of their own defence mechanisms.

Another powerful system of defence, equally unconscious, swings into action, namely, projection.  Projection is the process of unloading self-hatred onto others. Again, the alcoholic does not know what is actually happening. The more hateful alcoholics unconsciously see themselves to be, the more they will come to see themselves as surrounded by hateful people.

They say:  “He is always trying to run my life,” or  “ they are messing things up and making it harder for me!”  Depending on the overall personality of the alcoholic, this projecting can express itself in a variety of ways from passive, even gentle complaining to blazing aggression. In any case, this load of self-hatred must be dumped in order for alcoholics to survive.

The people around the alcoholic person have predictable experiences that are psychologically damaging. As they meet failure after failure, their feelings of fear, frustration, shame, inadequacy, guilt, resentment, self-pity and anger mount, and so do their defences.  They too use rationalization as a defence against these feelings because they are threatened with a growing sense of self-worthlessness.

Alcoholism has a domino affect on the entire family. The whole family can be affected by the alcoholic’s self-hatred and family members may say:  “I don’t need help.   It’s her problem not mine!” The chemically dependent and those closest to them all have impaired judgement; they differ only in the degree of impairment.

I advise family members to attend Alanon Meetings which are as prolific as Alcoholic Anonymous Meetings.

There are many resources available to the alcoholic to help him or her achieve a successful sobriety. I have seen many ladies over the years that are still sober today. How do I know?  They keep in touch with me on a regular basis, either via Skype or email. They have adhered to the program they were first introduced to when they commenced counselling via Skype.

They also take their supplements, including Tyrosine and L-Glutamine, found in our Ultimate Gut Health Powder, 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. The brain chemistry must be functional to stay sober.  Anyone can put down the drink, it’s leaving it there that’s difficult.  When it comes to feeling mentally and emotionally switched on, we have to have the correct brain chemistry – get it wrong and you will never achieve the feeling of wellbeing that you crave. The alcoholic has a predisposition to a depleted dopamine neurotransmitter – the centre of satisfaction in the brain. Supplementation with  Tyrosine Mood Food will help to alleviate feelings of a foggy brain.

I 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.

Help is only a phone call away. With the assistance of supplements, counselling, exercise and good nutrition, alcoholism can be put into remission, but never cured. Total abstinence is required to start the journey of recovery followed by counselling.