Alcoholism can be devastating. From the individual suffering from the condition to those who love them and beyond, the effects of this persistent disease can be far-reaching and profound.
What is Alcoholism?
Alcoholism, also known as alcohol use disorder (AUD), refers to an addiction to alcohol. However, we all know that while prevalent, addiction can be hard to define.
Alcoholism also goes under the names of alcohol dependence, alcohol addiction, or alcohol abuse – all referring to disordered drinking habits.
Addiction to alcohol can develop quickly or over a long period and affects people from all social, age, and ethnic classes worldwide. Alcohol Use Disorder is a pattern of alcohol use (or abuse) that is characterized by problems controlling your drinking habits. Some signs are being preoccupied with thoughts of alcohol or continuing to use alcohol even while aware that it’s damaging your physical and mental health (and that of those around you.)
How Common is Alcohol Addiction?
If you struggle to cope with your alcohol consumption, you’re not alone.
In fact, according to NHS figures, over seven-and-a-half million people in the UK show signs of alcohol dependence. A more shocking figure, still, is that estimations figure only 18% of that number are receiving any treatment for their addiction.
Every year, alcohol is the cause of 5.3% of deaths (or 1 in every 20) worldwide. In addition, according to most statistics, about 300 million people across the globe have a drinking problem.
When Does Normal Drinking Become a Problem?
Across the UK, the lines between alcohol drinking and normal drinking behavior are often blurred. For example, 24% of adults England and Scotland regularly drink over the Chief Medical Officer’s low-risk guidelines. And 27% of drinkers in Great Britain binge drink on their heaviest drinking days.
How Much is Safe to Drink?
This is a question to which the answer varies from person to person. If the root cause of alcoholism has not been solved, the best consumption level of alcohol is none at all. However, others are capable of consuming alcohol casually or in moderation.
According to the NHS’s guidelines, you should limit yourself to no more than 14 units of alcohol a week across three days. That’s around 6 medium (175ml) glasses of wine or 6 pints of 4% beer.
What Qualifies as an Alcoholic?
Alcoholism can range from mild to severe. Technically, However, the benchmark is placed at consuming over 4 drinks a day or more than 14 drinks a week for men. While consuming over 3 drinks a day or more than 7 drinks weekly counts as alcoholism for women according to NHS guidelines.
Symptoms of Alcoholism:
- Unable to control the amount you drink (or not being able to stop drinking.)
- Spending a large amount of time procuring alcohol and recovering from its effects.
- Feeling an intense craving or urge to drink alcohol.
- Failing to fulfill significant obligations at work, school, or within the home due to repeated alcohol use.
- Continuing to drink alcohol even while aware it’s causing social, physical, professional, or relationship problems.
- Experiencing short-term memory loss or blackouts.
- Irritability and extreme mood swings.
- Finding excuses to drink, such as to relax, deal with stress or feel normal.
What Causes Alcohol Addiction?
As a primarily personal condition, almost every alcoholism case has a different root cause – often more than one. Biological factors, environmental factors, social factors, and psychological factors can all play a role in the development of alcoholism.
However, for some, alcoholism has a lot less easily identifiable causes. Often, alcohol dependence can result from unresolved trauma and feelings of emptiness, alongside mental health problems such as depression and anxiety.
Why is Alcohol addictive?
Alcohol, just like any other drug, floods our brains with reward chemicals like dopamine. Long after our last drink, our brains and memories still associate drinking with positive feelings. Alcohol also lights up the pleasure center of the brain.
But for those with addictions, it goes much deeper than that. Not often wholly physical, but also mental, even reaching a spiritual level. Root cause
Whether it be a significant past experience, traumatic event, or a number of stressors, the issue hasn’t been dealt with – we know the issue has not been resolved if you have turned to self-medicating. Somewhere within, the lasting effects are still there, quietly fuelling your addiction.
Alcohol can become a coping mechanism – something to lean on in times of need. It takes on a form of self-harm while providing a sense of control in uncertain times. The outcome of drinking alcohol to excess is comfortably predictable, despite the harmful side effects. Temporary relief and predictability are preferred over the overall good.
How Can Alcohol Addiction be Overcome?
If you’re wondering how to stop an alcohol addiction signs, there are fortunately many strategies to escape its clutches for good.
Some signs that there’s conflict within:
- “I drink because I’m missing something”
- Family tragedy, losing family and destroying the family nest.
- Desire to live
- Conflict related to money
- Separation related to someone’s death
- Or contract with the substance “alcohol” that might be coming from a past life.
As well, sometimes when a person is dealing with alcohol, it’s a reaction to the fear of loving or fear of being loved. Hypnosis can be the solution to all these seemingly intractable problems.
Hypnosis for Alcohol Addiction
A large part of alcohol addiction help involves a varied, long-term strategy to combat the root cause alongside the symptoms. Hypnotherapy looks to change the way you think and behave in certain situations. Part of the hypnosis process is deeply connecting to feelings, thoughts, and memories. Both the hypnosis practitioner and the patient delve into them, seeking clarity and healing.
QHHT & Alcohol Addiction
Dolores Cannon is the great mind behind the Quantum Healing Hypnosis Technique (QHHT.) Over her 50-year career, she dedicated herself to developing and perfecting her unique method of hypnosis.
Now, QHHT is a world-famous hypnosis technique that’s employed to treat several conditions – both physical and mental.
QHHT works by accessing hypnotizing the patient into a trance-like dissociative state. While in this state, the barrier of the conscious mind can be bypassed to access the all-knowing, wise subconscious. The subconscious can be asked various questions from,” why am I dependent on alcohol?” or “how can I become free from my addiction?” These answers can be used for clarity and can also be included in any treatment plan adopted. The subconscious is also open to suggestibility, meaning that mindset changes can happen under hypnosis.
While QHHT is effective in treating alcoholism, it can also help alleviate the stress, worries, and pain of those surrounding the individual suffering from addiction. The individual’s loved ones may feel a sense of pain and guilt in relation to their suffering, alongside a conviction that they could do more. All of this can be traumatic and emotionally exhausting, leaving family and friends open to developing harmful thinking patterns and possibly even addictions of their own.
QHHT can help these blockages from forming by bringing the pain to a forefront, identifying the underlying issues, and addressing them healthily for optimal outcomes.
The Bottom Line …
Addiction of alcohol can be harrowing, leaving the person suffering from the disease feeling guilty, hopeless, and as though recovery isn’t possible. Fortunately, hypnosis can help to overcome these unhelpful feelings and notions by rooting them from the mind and replacing them with a new perspective that’s conducive to overcoming addiction naturally.
