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beaver asks...
i think i am an alchoholic what do i do?
What we suggest...
Hi beaver
Thanks for bringing your enquiry to q2a.
We are sorry to hear that you consider you might be alcoholic and are wondering what made you think this.
Saying that you, yourself or another person is an alcoholic can be difficult. What does the word actually mean? Alcoholism can affect anyone. As it says @
http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/newcomer/youngpeople.shtml
'nobody is too young (or too old) to have trouble with booze. That's because alcoholism is illness. It can hit anyone. Young, old. Rich, poor. Black, white. And it doesn't matter long you've been drinking or what you've been drinking. It's what drinking does to you that counts.'
So you might be asking yourself how you can tell what the word means for you. The site we have just mentioned above has a simple 12-Question Quiz that is designed to help you decide. It might be that you do not always have access to the Internet to have a look at these questions so here they are:
1. Do you drink because you have problems? To face up to stressful situations?
2. Do you drink when you get mad at other people, your friends or parents?
3. Do you often prefer to drink alone, rather than with others?
4. Are you starting to get low marks? Are you skiving off school?
5. Do you ever try to stop or drink less - and fail?
6. Have you begun to drink in the morning, before school?
7. Do you gulp your drinks as if to satisfy a great thirst?
8. Do you ever have loss of memory due to your drinking?
9. Do you avoid being honest with others about your drinking?
10. Do you ever get into trouble when you are drinking?
11. Do you often get drunk when you drink, even when you do not mean to?
12. Do you think you're big to be able to hold your drink?
The questions are there just to help you and there's no need to share your answers with anyone but the thought is that if you answer 'yes' to anyone of the questions then you need to consider your relationship with drink.
Other things to think about are your sex, age and how well your body can deal with alcohol. Alcoholic drinks are measured in units and it's recommended that you drink no more than 2-3 units a day if you're a woman and no more than 3-4 units a day if you're a man. For example, a pint of ordinary strength beer or lager is 2 units, a pint of strong beer or lager is 3 units. An alcopop is about 1.5 units. A pub measure of spirits or a 175ml glass of wine is 1 unit.
Some people 'save' their units up and drink them all in one evening, maybe even at other times of the day, and this is often referred to as binge drinking. This is not good as it can cause alcohol poisoning and put a serious strain on the liver. You have probably noticed that when we talked about units of alcohol we referred to men and women, but young people are more vulnerable to the effects of alcohol.
- Their bodies are developing and the alcohol may disrupt this process. For instance young people's brains are particularly sensitive. Alcohol can damage parts of the brain, affecting behaviour and the ability to learn and remember.
- Their bodies are smaller and are therefore more likely to be affected by smaller amounts of alcohol
- Their bodies are not used to alcohol
If you want to find out more about how alcohol can affect the body there is a lot of information @
http://www.knowyourlimits.info/TheEffectsOfAlcohol.aspx
You might find it scary to read about all the ways in which alcohol can affect you - just reading about it may be enough to put you off the booze or cut down. The healthiest option is probably not to drink at all or to limit it to an odd drink now and then if you can do this without feeling you have to drink more and more.
There are ways that you may be able to help yourself cut out drinking or it may be that you will need lots of help and support from other people - that is something we can't know. We can, however, give you some suggestions about ways to help get out of a sort of drinking spiral.
1. Keep a diary - Write down every time you have a drink - what it is, how much, where you drank and the time of day. Might help you to realise just how much you are drinking and help you to recognise times when you are put in a drinking situation - times to do something different or distract yourself.
2. Get more active - perhaps walking, running, swimming or getting involved in a sport. Exercise helps you relax and helps develop a feel good factor by helping to release those happy hormones, endorphins.
3. Try to think positively. You might feel there is a big gap in your life at first when you are not drinking but this will disappear eventually. There are lots of soft drinks out there nowadays to try instead. Doesn't always have to be boring orange juice or lemonade. Give yourself a treat - maybe go to the cinema or eat out with friends - whatever you like to do. You will certainly have the money when you are not buying alcohol.
4. Change your routine. We don't know where and when you are drinking. Maybe it's when you are out and about with your friends. If possible try not to hang out in the same places. Maybe suggest that you go somewhere else for a change. Try not to stand around or sit in one place - get active. Maybe make up your own team - maybe football or basket ball. You could think about getting involved in a youth centre.
There are key centres around Doncaster that offer a choice of various activities along with clinics, information, advice and guidance together with project work. They will be able to tell you about centres or activities in your area as well as being there for you if you want to talk about issues with alcohol. There seem to be two centres quite close to Conisbrough:-
For South Doncaster :-
South
Rossington Youth and Connexions Centre
West End Lane
Rossington
DN11 0DU
01302 868533
The Area Worker is Nicola Patterson
and in the West
West
Mexborough Youth and Connexions Centre
New Oxford Road
Mexborough
S64 0JL
01709 583175
The Area Worker is Darren Gough
5. No excuses. Don't use a crisis or even good news to be an excuse for 'just one'. There's probably no such thing. You will soon want the next drink and the next.
6. Take one day at a time. Remind yourself each day of how well you are doing. Each day without an alcoholic drink is good news for your health, your relationship and your pocket.
7. Write a list of all your personal reasons for stopping drinking
8. If you are not completely out of it with alcohol
- You'll be able to look our for your mates if things get out of hand
- No more being sick or passing out
- You might avoid doing something you'll regret
- You'll get home safely and getting up won't be so bad
- You'll feel and look better
- Not blow all your cash on an evening out you can't remember
The big one, of course, is that you really have to want to stop or cut down on the drinking. Being determined is a big factor. There is no quick and easy way.
You may find that you really need some help and support. Sometimes in can be difficult to talk about a reliance on something such as alcohol. You have made a start by getting in touch with us. There are other things you can do as well:
* You can Talk to Frank by calling 0800 77 66, by texting 82111, by email @ http://www.talktofrank.com/form.aspx or Talking to Frank online @ http://www.talktofrank.com/article.aspx?id=1624
* Perhaps you could get one or two of your friends to join you. Some of them might have been having the same thoughts but thought it was not a 'kool' thing to do.
* You have not told us how much you have been drinking but if you are drinking excessive amounts on a regular basis, it might be that you will need some medical support - go through a process of detox safely. You can talk in confidence to your doctor, who will be there to offer you the appropriate support. We don't know whether you have talked to a parent or carer about your concern. Although you might not want to, it's good to have someone in the family who is there to help you.
Wow, we have gone through quite a lot of information and advice in this response. It's quite amazing how one word like 'alcoholic' can involve so much. You might just want to return to the quiz and go through answering the questions. Then if you want to, work your way gradually through the tips and hints on stopping/cutting down. Some might work for you, whilst others don't.
You also might find it useful to have a look @
http://www.need2know.co.uk/need2know/health/addictions/article.html/id=1110
http://www.talktofrank.com/drug.aspx?id=166
http://www.drinkaware.co.uk
We hope that you have found our response helpful but please get back to us if you want to talk some more or have another enquiry in the future. You might just like to let us know how you get on.
Good Luck
Best Wishes
q2a
Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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