Alcohol Help

Reacting to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation’s report Drinking in the UK, an Exploration of Trends, which shows that young men are binge drinking less but women are binge-drinking more, Chris Sorek, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, says:

“This research provides a valuable insight into the varied drinking patterns among different age groups and genders. While it’s encouraging that binge-drinking is decreasing among 16-24 year old men, binge drinking among women is on the increase, affecting their general health and well-being.

“Even in small amounts, alcohol affects women differently to men – studies suggest that women are more prone to liver disease after a comparatively shorter period of heavy drinking. Alcohol can also affect women’s chances of conceiving a child and can lead to an increased risk of breast cancer. Women who drink heavily and often are also putting themselves at risk of short-term health and personal problems, including depression, disturbed sleep and compromised personal safety.

"Women who frequently binge drink need to know how it’s affecting their liver, as alcohol in regular, excessive quantities can be a potentially toxic substance. Giving your liver a break will give it a chance to properly metabolise the alcohol.

Drinkaware

Parents are confused about when to talk to their children about alcohol, according to new research by The Drinkaware Trust (Drinkaware).

Four out of 10 parents (40%) said they would proactively teach their children about alcohol and thought the right age to do this was at around 14 and a half, but according to 16 and 17 year olds, this is 12 months later than the time young people, on average, start drinking.¹

According to research conducted by ICM, the average age children have their first alcoholic drink is 13 and a half years and by just over 14, hundreds of young people have been drunk for the first time. England’s Chief Medical Officer estimates that 360,000 11-15 year olds get drunk on a weekly basis.

While parents are confident they can talk to their children about alcohol, many do not have the information and advice they need. Drinkaware is encouraging parents to make sure they are well informed when they guide their children about responsible drinking. The charity has set up a series of round-table discussions with senior figures from the alcohol industry and government, health and parenting professionals and young people themselves to tackle underage drinking head on.

The research questioning 16 and 17 year olds also showed that: ¹

* Over half (51%) listen to their parents about drinking alcohol;
* Nearly four in five (78%) drink regularly at friends’ houses;
* 44% keep alcohol at home;
* 60% see drinking as a normal part of socialising and being young;
* Almost half (49%) said they had seen their parents drunk.

Drinkaware’s CEO, Chris Sorek said: “It’s really encouraging that parents want to educate their children about alcohol, and that young people say they’re listening to what their parents say. Parents tell us they find it really difficult to know the best approach to talking about alcohol to their children – and that’s where we come in. “Drinkaware can provide clear information to parents and young people about the risks of binge drinking from a young age, and offer practical guidance to parents to help them educate their children about alcohol at the right time.

“There are strong links between drinking high levels of alcohol and youth offending, teenage pregnancy, truancy and exclusion from school, so it’s absolutely imperative that parents and young people can get all the available facts about alcohol.”

To help parents talk to their children about alcohol, Drinkaware recommends the following tips for parents:

* Be open with your children about alcohol – explain the pros and cons of drinking, without lecturing. Let them ask questions and tell them they can speak to you any time. Warn them especially about how easy it is for inexperienced drinkers to go over their limits, make a fool of themselves and compromise their safety.
* Try not to shout and lecture your children if they come home drunk. Sit them down and talk to them about it calmly at another time. Getting angry could make them more deceptive the next time they drink, and it’s better for you if you know where your child is and what they’re doing.
* Lead by example. If you often drink heavily in front of your children, they’ll think its okay to do the same.

The Drinkaware Trust

Mountainside Drug Rehab in CT has announced it has expanded its drug addiction treatment offerings to include a family addiction education component. To help families learn how to help a family member suffering from addiction.

The Mountainside Family Wellness Program will have a focus on understanding the disease of drug and alcohol abuse and how it impacts everyone in a family, constructive problem resolution and continuing care for the whole family.

Participants of the Family Wellness Program at Mountainside will learn about various family dynamics and tools that they can use build healthy family systems with someone in recovery from substance abuse . In addition, specific information regarding the family member that has entered drug and/or alcohol rehab is incorporated to ensure a lasting recovery for the client and healthy family dynamic. A key component of the course is to help understand what behaviors are helpful, expected and harmful to a substance abuser in recovery.

"Families are the hidden victims of drug addiction, enduring enormous levels of stress and pain. They often suffer sleepless nights, deep anxiety and physical exhaustion brought on by worry and desperation. Many times family members carry the burden of a loved ones drug addiction, and it acts as a weight that prohibits them from living healthy lives.

The Family Wellness Program at Mountainside Drug Rehab is designed to help the family recover from these symptoms and become part of the solution. Having a family member in drug rehab or a treatment center for alcohol addiction can be difficult for all that are involved and can often cloud our ability to make the right decision when it comes to helping that family member in to treatment or even more importantly when they get out of treatment. When education is given, with the proper tools and follow up – successful outcomes are more likely to follow.
The goals of this program are:

• To educate families about addiction as a disease
• Encourage participants to examine their roles in the family system
• To provide strategies for identifying and addressing addictive behavior
• Understanding the disease of addiction involving drug and alcohol abuse
• Constructive problem resolution
• Continuing care for the whole family

Founded in 1998, Mountainside Drug Rehab has pioneered many changes in the treatment community as part of its mission to ensure the highest quality and most effective care for its clients.

Mountainside Treatment Center

Is the recession driving UK professionals to drink? As economic conditions deteriorate, treatment specialists are reporting sharp increases in people with demanding jobs seeking alcohol abuse help, especially from the financial services sector.

"Workplace stress correlates closely with heavy drinking, as does the threat of redundancy. Add to that the general problems of mounting consumer debt, spiralling household bills and a fall in property values, and you’ve got the perfect conditions for an alcohol problem to escalate," explains Sue Allchurch, research director at Linwood Group.

Contrary to the popular stereotypes of alcoholics, middle-class professionals are in fact at particular risk from alcohol dependence, according to figures released last year by the Office for National Statistics. Some 43 per cent of those in ‘ managerial and professional’ occupations exceed healthy drinking limits, compared to 31 per cent among those in ‘routine and manual’ jobs. Among those in the highest social category – top managers and large employers – 49 per cent drank too much.And in the population at large, several studies have provided robust evidence that the prevalence of alcohol abuse is strongly connected to the psychological stress of economic recessions.For those faced with cutbacks at work and the need to meet demanding targets under challenging conditions, the temptation to ‘self-medicate’ may be strong, warns Sue Allchurch.

And while outwardly high-achieving and super-competent, many professionals feel under enormous pressure to hide the stress they feel – and their reactions to it – from their families, friends and colleagues.But there are clear signs to look out for, she adds. These include:

1. Finding excuses for drinking – bad news at work or giving departing employees "a good send-off" regularly turns into a long evening in the pub.
2. A drop-off in performance – taking days off, being late for work or simply not being ‘on the ball’, because you’ve got a hangover. Needing a lunchtime drink to counteract the effects of last night’s drinking
3. Missed targets and appointments – procrastination and forgetfulness have become a habit due to heavy drinking.
4. Risk-taking – gambling on the outcome of a business deal, on the basis of factors or evidence beyond your control.
5. Defensiveness – becoming irritable if colleagues point out how much you are drinking.

"Anyone who is self-medicating in these ways should be aware of the warning signs and seek alcohol abuse help before their situation becomes critical," says Allchurch.

Linwood Manor

With supermarkets selling booze at rock-bottom prices, alcohol has never been more affordable. But can the same be said for the costs of residential rehab to help problem drinkers?

Many problem drinkers continue to believe that this kind of treatment is a luxury that only mega-rich celebrities can afford.

And those that turn instead to the public sector for help are in for a long wait. According to figures from charity Alcohol Concern, dependent drinkers in some parts of England face delays of a year or more to access any form of structured treatment. As a result, as few as 2 per cent of drinkers in some areas are getting any sort of help to address their alcohol problems.

That means that many problem drinkers are deterred from seeking the professional help they need to get their lives back on track.

But one company that is seeking to challenge the myth that residential rehab is only for the wealthy is Linwood Manor Group. The organisation was founded on the principle that affordable alcohol help needn’t involve any compromise in quality. Accordingly, it prices its services at a level that cannot find for less on a like-for-like basis anywhere in England.

"We pride ourselves in offering an excellent treatment service and it makes sense to us to increase the availability of that service to as many people as possible," explains Linwood Group research director Sue Allchurch.

It is a reflection of Linwood’s confidence in the effectiveness of its services that it is prepared to refund any difference in costs if someone that comes to it is able to demonstrate that they could have received the same treatment in facilities of the same quality elsewhere in the UK.

In recent months, treatment at Linwood Manor has become even more affordable, she says, as the company has cut its development budget in order to fund treatment cost reductions in response to the recession. "The deteriorating economic climate is putting pressure on everyone. For someone struggling with alcohol, that can mean a sharp escalation in their problem," she says.

In addition, Linwood has identified a financial services provider, Soberloans, that assists people with getting the financing they need to access appropriate services. According to individual circumstances, Soberloans can provide funding from £500 to up to 100 per cent of treatment costs.

Remember: there are options out there. Don’t be one of the 33,000 people in the UK who die from alcohol-related incidents or illness each year. An investment in affordable alcohol help may be a small price to pay to get your life back on track.

Linwood Manor