Alcohol Help

People are turning to alcohol to relieve the stress caused by redundancy, according to new research launched by alcohol charity Drinkaware.

One in 10 British adults has either been made redundant or knows someone who has been made redundant in the last six months and is drinking more as a result. Being out of work also affects people’s drinking patterns with almost half (49%) of this group drinking more during the day.

With the UK in the grips of recession, the number of people being made redundant is on the rise. Two fifths of people in Great Britain (39 per cent) have either been made redundant, or know someone who has been made redundant in the past six months. More than half (55 per cent) of this group have noticed a negative effect on emotional well-being resulting in mood swings, anxiety or boredom.

To help people cope positively with redundancy, Drinkaware has teamed up with top careers coach John Lees to produce a free advice booklet. Made redundant? The practical guide to getting back into work and staying healthy, includes expert information on knowing your rights, coping with loss of income, and preparing for a new job search. It can be downloaded from drinkaware.co.uk and is also widely available from GP’s surgeries, Jobcentre Plus, and recruitment agencies.

Of the people who reported an increase in drinking patterns, the research* also shows that:
• More than two thirds (71 per cent) directly attribute the increase in drinking alcohol to redundancy;
• Six out of 10 (61 per cent) are concerned about the increase in alcohol consumption.

Chris Sorek, CEO of Drinkaware, says: “The country is facing one of its worst recessions in history and redundancies are making daily headlines. Losing your job is recognised as one of the top 10 most stressful life events, and many people are turning to alcohol as a coping mechanism. But alcohol is a depressant and can lead to further stress and anxiety, which can make the effects of redundancy much worse.

“People who have been affected by redundancy – whether they’re drinking more alcohol or not – can take a look at our advice booklet for practical ways to move forward and make a fresh start.”

Drinkaware suggests the following tips to help people deal with the immediate aftermath of redundancy:

• Try to avoid alcohol and take exercise to burn off tension. If you think you might be drinking too much, or are concerned about any aspect of your drinking, seek advice and help. Talking about it to someone you trust is the first step, or call Drinkline, the national 24-hour helpline on 0800 917 8282;
• Make an appointment with a recruitment agency or careers advisor to review your CV and discuss career opportunities;
• Check your finances, bills, savings and any other income you might have, and work out a budget for the next three months;
• Stay healthy – eating a wide variety of food, especially fish, wholegrain cereals, nuts, beans, fruit, vegetables and protein, and drinking plenty of water will help lift your mood.

Drinkaware

According to an alcohol fact sheet published by the Institute of Alcohol Studies (IAS), alcohol is the third leading cause of disease and injury in developed countries, causing nearly 10 percent of all ill health and premature deaths in Europe. This is ahead of obesity, diabetes and asthma and second only to smoking and blood pressure conditions.

It is hard to define the moment when the ‘odd drink’ becomes a need, not just a want, but more and more people are struggling with alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence across the UK. So, what is the difference between the two, and how do you know if you, or a loved one, is suffering from either of these conditions? Sue Allchurch, director of Linwood Group, a leading provider of alcohol treatment facilities, explains further: "Alcohol abuse becomes apparent when, over a period of time, a person’s drinking has repeatedly caused or contributed to risk-taking behaviours, role impairment and relationship or legal problems. It shows that the person is drinking alcoholic beverages to excess, either on individual occasions (‘binge drinking’) or as a regular practice, without the development of tolerance, withdrawal or a compulsive alcohol use pattern. Alcohol dependence however is the next stage on from this and is characterised in a person by their increased tolerance to the effects of alcohol, the presence of characteristic withdrawal signs and symptoms, and impaired control over the quantity and frequency of their drinking.

"Typically, people who are diagnosed as alcohol abusers can be helped with a brief intervention, including education concerning the dangers of binge drinking and alcohol poisoning. For those who have become dependent on alcohol however, more intensive help is required. This could be in the form of detoxification, medical treatment, counselling and/or a self-help group support."

To help you see the degree of difference between the two conditions, Linwood Group operates a traffic light system:

The Traffic Light System for Drinking

Green: Safe drinking

Government guidelines for safe drinking suggest that 21 units for a man and 14 units per week for a woman are safe. These should be spaced over a week and not consumed in one or two sessions. The measurement of a unit of drink is suggested as being half a pint of beer, a glass of wine or a pub measure of spirits (however, be aware that a half pint of beer can contain 3.5 units of alcohol in special beers).

Amber: Unsafe drinking – beginnings of alcohol abuse

This is when you are taking in more than the recommended amount on a regular basis and may be starting to show the early physical or emotional consequences of this. If challenged about your drinking, you would strongly reject having a problem, after all ‘you deserve a drink’ and ‘all my friends do this as well’. At this level of drinking, you are more likely to show some blood chemical changes due to the high alcohol intake. The enzyme in the liver, which deals with alcohol will be elevated as the liver is under some strain.

Red: Dangerous drinking – moving toward alcohol dependency

This is when you are at high risk of physical and emotional damage. You drink even when you know it is not safe and at levels way above the safe limits. Your friends and family have warned you and you may have already experienced difficulties at work, home or even with the police. Your blood tests would show signs of dangerous drinking. It is vital that you have the courage to admit and confront your drinking at this stage. Being too proud or ashamed to admit you need help could cost you your life.

For those who are moving towards alcohol dependency, they will not only exhibit all of the characteristics depicted in the Red Traffic Light section, but also some of the following:

* Favouring one type of drink: drinking only one type or brand of alcohol
* Seeking drinking opportunities: only going to social events where drinking is included, or choosing to spend time with those who drink
* Increased tolerance: The need for increasing amounts of alcohol in order to feel its effects
* Withdrawal: Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety when alcohol use is stopped after a period of heavy drinking;
* Drinking to relieve withdrawal symptoms: such as drinking to stop the shakes or ‘cure’ a hangover
* Returning to drink after attempting to stop: being unable to resist drink, even if you have attempted to stop for a period of time

Linwood Manor

The risk of lung cancer increases for those smokers who have a tendency to binge drinking. This was found by the Kuopio Ischemic Heart Disease Risk Factor Study (KIHD), conducted at the University of Kuopio in Finland.

The KIHD study has followed up a cohort of men from eastern Finland for about 17 years. Binge drinking was found be associated with an increased risk of lung cancer among those who had smoked between 1 and 30 years regardless of how many cigarrettes a day they smoked. Meanwhile, binge drinking was not associated with any increased risk of lung cancer among non-smokers.

Because the risks were observed among smokers alone, other effects of smoking cannot be completely ruled out in interpreting the research results.

The study is part of the Academy of Finland’s research programme on Substance Use and Addictions.

The European Journal of Public Health

Alcoholism Explained

Alcoholism is a disease. It’s a fact that too many people forget, when they talk about alcoholics and alcohol abuse. It is not a choice, or a function of personal will. Alcoholics aren’t alcoholics because they choose to be; they’re alcoholics because they’re sick, and because their sickness outstrips anything that might ever be called their personal will. The flipside, of course, is that no victim of alcoholism can ever simply choose to get better. As alcoholism is a disease, so is clinical alcohol treatment vital to an addict’s prospects for long-term recovery. No one beats alcohol dependency alone. It’s not possible, really…in the same sense that it wouldn’t be possible for a cancer patient to beat cancer by himself. Sick patients need help from competent doctors. There’s no other way for recovery to work. The bottom line is that you can’t afford not to get help for your alcoholism problem. Make no mistake: Alcohol abuse is a killer. There’s too much at stake for you not to give the fight everything you’ve got.

The Impact of Alcoholism

The alcoholic mind is characterized above all else by need. Infected by it, really, stained in such a way that the need trumps all other emotions: love, hope, and joy. The alcoholic mind is a mind fixated on, consumed by, its own want…and so it is that no one can ever expect to beat alcoholism without the help of specially-trained rehabilitation professionals. If you or someone you care about is a victim of alcoholism, don’t wait another to get help. Those alcoholics who try to get sober on their own are doomed to failure; alcohol addiction is too formidable a foe for anyone to confront alone. In the fight against alcoholism, to play the hero is to play the fool. Don’t make the mistake of having to learn that lesson the hard way. Remember too that alcohol treatment can’t start until alcohol treatment patients seek it out. There are many alcoholism treatment programs out there, and yes, the decision to enroll in an alcohol rehab program is an enormously difficult one…perhaps the most trying choice an alcoholic will ever face…. but nothing in the world could ever be more important. The fight against alcoholism, simply put, is a fight you can’t afford not to win. Make today the day you start doing what you must.

Finding An Alcoholism Treatment Center

So many alcohol treatment centers to choose from, so little basis for making any kind of rational decision. That’s the nut of the problem for most prospective alcohol treatment center patient. It’s hard to distinguish one treatment center from the next. It’s hard to know what to look for, and what questions to ask. It’s hard to understand what exactly it is that makes some alcoholism treatment plans succeed where others fail…which is, when you get down to it, the only thing that could ever really matter. Here’s the bottom line: the alcohol treatment center that’s "right" for you is the one that recognizes you for what you actually are: a unique individual with unique individual needs. Secondhand alcoholism rehab just won’t cut it; you need an alcohol treatment center program that’s uniquely your own if you’re going to have any hope of getting sober for good. What that means, of course, is that you’ve got to find an alcohol treatment center that emphasizes the individuality of each of its patients, and aims to serve each of them, as they actually need to be served.

Cliffside Malibu

Extreme binge-drinking may be putting college students at significant risk of accidents and injuries, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that among more than 2,000 college students with drinking problems, those who admitted to "extreme" drinking — eight or more drinks in day for men, five or more for women — were more likely than their peers to have suffered a recent alcohol-related injury.

For each extreme-drinking day a man had in the past month, his risk of a drinking-related injury — from a fall or "fender bender," for instance — increased by 19 percent.

That same risk climbed by 10 percent for women, according to findings published online by the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

The fact that heavy drinking often leads to accidents and injuries is no secret, but the findings show that the risks continue to "grow rapidly" the more students drink, according to Dr. Marlon P. Mundt and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The researchers also found that students with a "sensation-seeking" personality — as measured by a standard questionnaire — were at elevated risk of drinking-related injuries.

"College administrators, parents, and clinicians need to focus their intervention efforts on these students — ‘frequent extreme heavy drinkers’ — who score high on sensation-seeking disposition," Mundt said in a news release from the journal.

"These are the students at high risk for injury," the researcher added. "Quantities alone, or frequency of consumption alone, do not show the whole picture. A drinking pattern of frequent extreme intoxication is key, as it escalates injury rates rapidly."

The findings are based on interviews with 2,090 students at five U.S. universities who had screened positive for risky drinking at their college health clinic. Risky drinking included habits such as drinking on three or more days of the week, and having more than 15 drinks in a week for men, or 12 or more per week for women.

Even within this group, the researchers found, extreme binge-drinking was linked to a substantially higher risk of recent injury.

The findings do not mean, however, that extreme drinkers are the only students at risk, Mundt and his colleagues stress. Lower levels of drinking, they write, should not be seen as "safeguard" against injuries.

Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research,

Welsh assembly welcomes alcohol concern Cymru. National agency on alcohol misuse to target alcohol harm reduction in wales

Alcohol Concern is pleased to announce it has received funding from the Welsh Assembly to set up a national office for Wales, with the aim of reducing alcohol-related harm across the country.

Alcohol Concern Wales/Cymru will be established as the NGO specialising on alcohol issues in Wales, acting as a champion for alcohol harm reduction.

The organisation will be based in Cardiff and will run campaigns to help consumers make more informed choices and help to get Alcohol Awareness Week up and running in Wales. It will also seek to raise funding for specific projects targeted at reducing harm caused by alcohol and provide consultancy and training to raise alcohol awareness. It will bring relevant stakeholders together, highlight public health concerns in relation to alcohol harm in Wales and lobby for improved alcohol policy at Welsh Assembly and Public Health Team and Board level.

The Profile of Alcohol and Health in Wales, published April 2009, showed that 1,000 people die from causes attributable to alcohol in Wales each year.

Alcohol Concern Chief Executive Don Shenker said:

"Funding from Wales means we can do more targeted work, help shape the future of alcohol services and campaign for change.

"With 1,000 people dying each year in Wales due to alcohol misuse there is a need to both help the public make healthier choices and to put pressure on politicians to take tough action on irresponsible price promotions and loss-leading sales."

Alcohol Concern