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I haven’t had a drink for almost six years. Of course I have problems like everyone else. I have had to face a painful divorce in sobriety, but my friends and family supported me. I no longer feel trapped or alone. I experience peace and contentment in my life and I am eternally grateful to all those at Broadway Lodge where I began to make these steps into a new life. I still stay in contact with friends and staff there. How very different I feel today from that cold dark day in January 2001...Has drinking alcohol become a problem for me?Yes, if: - You can’t stop drinking once you start;
- You have tried to stop drinking for a week or so but only quit for a few days;
- You fail to do what you should at work or at home because of drinking;
- You feel guilty after drinking;
- You find other people make comments to you about your drinking;
- You have a drink in the morning to get yourself going after drinking heavily the night before;
- You can’t remember what happened while you were drinking;
- You have hurt someone else as a result of your drinking;
- You hide drink or drink secretly;
- Drinking costs you more than money i.e. relationships, work.
Am I drinking too much?Yes, if you are: - A woman who has more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion;
- A man who has more than 14 drinks per week or more than four drinks per occasion;
- Older than 65 years and having more than seven drinks per week or more than three drinks per occasion.
One drink = one 12oz bottle of beer (4.5 per cent alcohol) or one 5oz glass of wine (12.9 per cent alcohol) or 1.5oz of 80-proof distilled spirits.
The most important and difficult phase of treatment for alcohol addiction is to break through a patient’s denial. Denial is the primary symptom of the addiction – for this is the disease that tells you that you do not have it! Due to the nature of this disease, people tend to isolate themselves, so treatment at Broadway Lodge encourages people to work, mix and share together.
Broadway Lodge, based at Weston-Super-Mare, is a charity and one of the leading centres in Europe, providing treatment for addiction to alcohol, drugs and food.
Tel: 01934 812319 or visit www.broadwaylodge.org.uk/
Each year excessive alcohol consumption kills more than 6,000 people in England and Wales and costs the NHS £1.7 billion a year. On average 3,000 people are killed or seriously injured each year in drink drive collisions. Sobering statistics. The new Alcohol Awareness Manual from Haynes Publishing (£14.99 ISBN: 1 84425 295 7) is an invaluable guide to using alcohol safely and sensibly. It also explains what happens if you or someone you know overdoes it. Alcohol in your body affects your brain, heart, liver, gastrointestinal tract, blood, muscles, central nervous system and endocrine system. Alcohol can change someone’s personality, destroy their relationships, sex life and ruin their career. This could be a timely New Year’s read.
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