My patient went straight to the point as soon as she sat down. “What damage have I done to my liver?” That summed up her reason for being in my office and saved me a lot of time asking questions.

It’s the time of the year that New Year’s Resolutions are starting to wane; especially for those who have promised to give up alcohol or even cut down on their daily alcohol consumption.

Anyone can put down the drink; it’s leaving it there that’s the hardest thing to do. Every little molehill becomes a mountain and anxieties turn into disasters leaving an alcohol dependent person no choice except to have a drink so they can “think clearly.”

You can take alcohol out of the fruitcake but you still have a fruitcake! Alcoholism is an emotional disease and trying to deal with your emotions, stone cold sober, is one of the hardest things you will ever have to do in your life.

Through alcohol affects virtually every cell in the body’s system, the liver takes the most punishment. That’s because it’s the liver that processes toxic substances, including alcohol and drugs in our bloodstream in a gallant attempt to render them harmless.

Excesses of alcohol, as little as three drinks per day, and of course, some drugs taken by mouth, can overtax the liver’s purifying machinery, eventually causing it to malfunction.

If you drink to excess, it is imperative that you have your liver checked and take immediate action.

A fatty liver is almost universal among those who drink alcohol excessively. An alcohol dependent person may not notice any liver damage symptoms and continue to drink to excess.

With abstinence and a healthier lifestyle coupled with supplements like Tyrosine Mood Food, Magnesium Ultra Potent, l-Glutamine, Gaba and Livatone Plus, the liver almost always returns to normal except in the final stage of cirrhosis.

Good nutrition and additional supplements can help speed the return of normal liver function.

However, total abstinence requires addressing out-of- control emotions with an addiction counsellor using DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy), a 12 Step Program like Alcoholics Anonymous or Co-Dependency Anonymous (addicted to people), active meditation (Creative Visualization and Guided Imagery), good nutrition and exercise.

In DBT, there is a strong emphasis on mindfulness and acceptance. When we are mindful, we live in the present and are aware of our own thoughts and feelings as they occur. To live one day at a time takes the pressure off past and pending problems once you know how to emotionally detach from people, places, things and situations.

When we are pre-occupied with our own neediness, we can be physically present to others, but mentally absent. Being mindful means having intention in your actions. With intention you purposefully choose your behaviour (not to drink) with the bigger picture in mind.

Learning how to be mindful of one’s thinking, emotions and behavior, complements a healthy life without the need to use alcohol to escape reality. DBT enables us to understand our feelings and untangle complicated emotions and ends cycles of depression, anxiety and substance abuse.

Active meditation is another tool that assists the sub-conscious mind to change limited beliefs and change thought patterns that produce negative emotions.

The 12 step program is a systematic way of looking at alcohol dependency and taking the right step to actually beating this disease by accepting it and then resolving the problems that it caused and finally recovering and returning to life without that substance.

It is a method which has proven ability for helping people to beat their addictions and to get a real and meaningful life again without the crutch that they may have relied on for many years. Used in conjunction with DBT and active meditation, the 12 Step Program provides another resource in recovering from alcohol abuse.