What If Almost Everything You’ve Ever Been Told About Alcohol Treatment Is Wrong?

The sad fact is that almost everything you’ve ever heard about putting “alcoholism” or alcohol abuse behind you is wrong!

This starts with the very word alcoholism itself – which implies that the mis-use of alcohol is a disease. But for 85% of those who are looking for help it isn’t – it’s a habit and a coping mechanism that’s gotten out of control.

Do you really want to saddle yourself with a demeaning, self-destructive, and counter-productive label for the rest of your life? One that comes with a ton of life diminishing add-ons?

We didn’t think so.

The rest of the lies and myths that surround treatment come from the same AA/12 Step based, relapse promoting, industry that keeps their clients’ failure rates at well above 90%.

But, for your own protection, please remember:

  • You aren’t “powerless”;
  • You don’t need to wait until you “hit bottom”;
  • You don’t need 30, 60, or 90 days of “treatment”;
  • You don’t deserve a public “alcoholic” label (98% of treatment programs are NOT confidential);
  • “One size fits all” treatment programs are really “one size that rarely fits anyone” programs;
  • Research based treatment works ten times better than AA.

If I Stop Drinking, Will I Lose Weight?

This is another phrase that often appears in Google searches. And the answer to the above question is “maybe”.

Certainly there are connections between drinking and weight gain but they aren’t always obvious.

For example? People who undergo gastric bypass or lap band surgery frequently (over 40% of the time) lose weight but immediately develop problems with alcohol!

Why? Because surgery doesn’t address the underlying cause of the over eating – and since food quantities are restricted, only alcohol now meets the need to self-medicate.

We’ve worked with a number of justifiably angry clients who soon realized that if they’d worked with us first they could have skipped the physically, emotionally, and psychologically damaging surgery.

There are, of course, other connections between weight and drinking we also address with clients. Things like:

  • alcohol is a “depressant” and how that affects activities levels and, hence, weight;
  • alcohol as an isolating drug and that promotes secondary self-medicating eating;
  • alcohol as a very high calorie adjunct to equally unhealthy fine dining;
  • and, of course, alcohol is a motivation destroying medication that lets us postpone doing anything about almost everything until it’s too late.

Amazing, isn’t it? How self-destructive habits can be linked together, but how they can also be overcome together?

Odds and Ends…

The Federation of State Physician Advocacy Groups (FSPAG) lists us as a preferred provider of effective and confidential services through our Licensed Professionals Program.

Whether you’re a doctor, lawyer, teacher, therapist, or other licensed or certificated professional, you can work with us without fear of exposure.

Ten Things I Wish I’d Known Before I Sent My Brother Off To Rehab is Mary Ellen’s popular article on what she learned the hard way ten years ago about the treatment industry.

Women and Alcohol – What To Consider In Treatment and why women need and deserve services built around women’s needs, not just another recycled (and failed) men’s program – which is all anyone else has to offer.

*********

If a friend has forwarded our Newsletter to you, please subscribe by clicking on:

Non 12 Step News Subscriptions

As Featured On Best Ezines

Remember, whether you need to abstain or cut back, or just explore what’s possible for you, we’re here to help.