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Alchohol Addiction Therapy

Pouring Wine

If you start to feel unwell after going several hours without a drink, you may be going into alcohol withdrawal. Please see guidance at the end of this article. 

Are you fed up with the impact your drinking is having on yourself and others?

  • Are you finding it increasingly difficult to perform to your best at work? 

  • Do you hide alcohol in the house or find ways to drink secretly? 

  • Perhaps more of your money is going on alcohol than on the things you really want to enrich your life? Have your savings stopped growing? 

  • Your sex life, family life, friendships could all be effected. 

  • Perhaps you’re having ‘close calls’ with the law if you’re inclined to get drawn into fights, or risk driving after drinking.

But I know I’m not an alcoholic…..

Maybe you don’t drink every day but, when you do, it often gets out of hand and you drink way more than you ever intended.  It could be that you know you won’t be able to stop once you have that first drink – but you just can’t talk yourself out of having that first drink.

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Or you may be someone who continues to hold down a good job and also keeps up with family responsibilities and a good social life.  But you know you are drinking too much; you’re worried about your health; and maybe your confidence that you can stop whenever you want, is becoming a bit shaky.

Even when you stop drinking, does the risk of starting again feel really close?

Perhaps you’ve tried to stop drinking – maybe a number of times – but despite best intentions, you’ve drunk too much again.

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Even after being  through a rehab programme, which might have helped at the time, you could now be feeling like it isn’t going to be enough to keep you sober.

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Are you part of an AA or SMART group and benefitting from the shared experience and techniques?  Perhaps you also realise that you are just not settled within yourself and drinking has been the best way you know of to help you feel calm and confident?

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Whatever your circumstances, wherever you are in your journey towards managing, or stopping, your drinking, psychological therapy can help.

From ‘social’ to ‘problem’ drinking

Coming to rely on alcohol is something that often creeps up on people.  One day they’re just drinking socially and the next time they check in with themselves they’re binge drinking 3 or 4 times a week. 

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For some of us, we have been brought up in families and communities where drinking, and drinking to excess, have just been part of normal behaviour.  It’s what everyone does.  Even in these environments, most people don’t develop significant problems with alcohol misuse.  But for some, their particular family circumstances, personality, cognitive style (such as ADHD), and experiences collide in a particular way that leads towards misusing alcohol.

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For others, they began drinking as part of their rebellious teenager years and it just didn’t stop. 

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Some people, in the face of extraordinary life challenges, find that alcohol is the one thing that could bring them some respite from intense feelings of anxiety, anger or despair.  Of course, when the soothing effect wears off, they are left again with those original feelings – only now made worse by a hangover, dehydration, headache and an empty wallet.

Your story may be different from all of these.  But you’re here, reading this, because in some way your drinking has got out of hand. 

So can therapy really help with alcohol addiction?

Yes, psychological therapy really can help you to get in control of your drinking. This is likely to include developing practical strategies that work for you.  But, perhaps more importantly, therapy will make sure you have time to ‘learn about you’. 

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The day-to-day stress of excessive drinking for example,  health concerns, arguments, secrecy and self-criticism, can be enough in themselves to lead to further drinking in an attempt to relieve how awful you feel.

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But add into this any challenging life experiences such as childhood neglect or abuse; complicated bereavement; acrimonious divorce and other losses; redundancy; violence or criminal investigation, and alcohol is an understandable way to find relief from how these have left you feeling. 

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Working with  your thoughts, beliefs and feelings, along with understanding the ways you manage them, is often a key to unlocking the persistence of alcohol addiction.

How do I start controlling my alcohol use?

Just drop me a message and we can arrange a brief, introductory video call.  There is no charge for this and no obligation to take things further.  If this feels too daunting, we can speak on the phone instead.

Alcohol Withdrawal

Signs of alcohol withdrawal include: shaking, sweating , nausea, and headache. Alcohol withdrawal can have very serious complications, like confusion, hallucinations and seizures. It can even be fatal if left untreated. 

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If you experience symptoms of withdrawal, do not stop drinking suddenly but space out your drinks to manage your withdrawal symptoms.

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If you are a very heavy drinker, you may need to get medical support from  your GP or alcohol team in the form of medication to ease withdrawal symptoms.  Likewise, if you have experienced hallucinations or seizures when you have stopped drinking previously, please contact your GP or alcohol support team as you may be at heightened risk of alcohol withdrawal symptoms.

Book a free consultation

I offer a free 15 - 30 minute introductory video consultation to help you decide if therapy with me is right for you at this time.  

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