It became clear to me many years ago that it was not only pointless but dangerous to wait until the alcoholic hit their own personal rock bottom.

The inevitable crises could actually be employed to break through the alcoholic’s defenses, an act of intervention that could stop the downward spiral towards death.

Crises can be used creatively to bring about intervention and breaking through denial.

All the alcoholics we’ve counseled over the years, it was only through crises that intervention had occurred. This led to experimentation with useful methods of employing crises at earlier stages of the disease.

Many alcoholics contact us for a consultation immediately after they have had a crisis in their life. If we don’t get hold of them early, they slip back into their old ways and become totally irresponsible after a short space of time.  Once we’ve planted the seed of sobriety in their mind, as we’ve been told by many long-term recovered alcoholics, that we ruined their future drinking and they gave in to win.

All alcoholics are already surrounded by crises in some way shape or form and a lot of opportunities are missed. All we need to do is to make those around the alcoholic knowledgeable enough so that they can start using the crises as an intervention. This makes it possible for the alcoholic to move sooner and to limit the very real damage that comes from living with a worsening situation.
Several misconceptions about alcoholism cause family and friends to be fearful to confront alcoholics. We are let to believe that alcoholism may be a cover for some more serious emotional disorder and that alcoholics can be shattered if they are cornered.

Another misconception is that the alcoholic is heedless and does not care what damage such behaviour causes. This leads to the erroneous assumption that the alcoholic will be unresponsive to any offers of help.

Because of the wide mood swings, the alcoholic is a formidable person to confront and is able skilfully to rationalise this behaviour because they are in denial.

Actually, the alcoholic is loaded with self-hatred which is repressed and unconscious and often projected onto other people.  Alcoholics lie with increasing impairment of judgement and eventually lose touch with their emotions entirely.  Alcoholism is an emotional disease coupled with a physical allergy to alcohol. Alcohol is only a symptom of an underlying problem.

The disease of alcoholism swallows up all differences and creates a universal alcoholic profile with many people portraying fully functional alcoholics. They don’t perceive themselves as park-bench drunks as they are able to communicate their way through life as a functional alcoholic until one day, the disease of alcoholism catches up with them by way of heart disease, stroke or cancer. Again, they are in denial about their drinking and believe that they are just the unfortunate person who has contracted one of the 3 killer diseases on this planet.

We truly believe that if alcoholism was taken into consideration when diagnosing many cancers, heart disease and stroke, then the disease of alcoholism would take over as the No.1 killer in the world.  It should also include many mental illnesses induced by self-medicating with alcohol.

The disease is typified by a progressive “mental mismanagement” and an increasing emotional distress which can reach suicidal proportions. There is a developing spiritual impoverishment that makes the destruction complete.  Don’t delay – get help for your loved one as soon as it becomes evident that they are drowning in a sea of alcohol.

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. Tyrosine Mood Food is necessary for the manufacture of dopamine and noradrenaline, which are required for concentration, alertness, memory and a happy stable mood.  Dopamine is a neurotransmitter responsible for the sense of satisfaction – why do we drink? To feel satisfied.  It is also the reward neurotransmitter – why do we drink?  It rewards us and makes us feel better about life.

To help the alcoholic relax we recommend Magnesium Complete as it will assist in the reduction of stress, nervous tension, anxiety and sleeplessness. I take Magnesium Ultra Potent because it suits me to use the powder format and to help prevent muscle cramps at night.

Livatone Plus is a powerful formula that can support liver function when there are more chronic liver problems. It is beneficial for a sluggish bile flow and gall bladder problems or if you have lost your gallbladder. It is beneficial in reducing abdominal bloating, burping and flatulence and provides extra antioxidant protection for the liver when required.

Allergies are related to poor liver function which reduces the liver’s efficiency in cleansing the blood of toxins (such as antibodies and chemicals like alcohol.) Such toxins over stimulate the immune system causing it to pour out inflammatory chemicals. Read my book The Liver Cleansing Diet.

L-Glutamine helps to remove ammonia from the bloodstream to lower levels of toxic ammonia that build up when liver dysfunction is present. A practicing alcoholic has a very inflamed liver and needs to detox and heal, if the body is to recover from alcoholism.  L-Glutamine is the most amazing amino acid in the body! It is vital for healthy intestinal function and may help with inflammation of the intestinal tract. It is also vital for muscle growth and healthy muscle function. It also assists muscle recovery after exercise. I always put my patients on an exercise program to help heal their mind, body and spirit. L-Glutamine also supports efficient brain function.

 

The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease.