Information on alcohol and drus use

Let’s face it many of us love to booze and enjoy other recreational drugs. Alcohol is probably our favourite drug with twice as many people becoming addicted to it as compared with all other drugs combined; many people like to add an extra high by combining booze and cocaine or ecstasy, or wacky backy, whilst others like their heroin.

Whatever your drug(s) of choice are, my wish for you is, that they are not costing you more than money. I hope that your drug(s) of choice just provide enjoyment, without harming anyone else. If you think that booze and/or drugs might be costing you more than money, the table below, listing the four most popular drugs will give you some ideas as to why:

Drug	Advantages	Disadvantages when effects wear off.
Heroin	Gives a sense of well being, whilst helping you to feel better about any disturbed feelings	Feeling disorganised inside yourself: feelings of aggression & anger possibly leading to violence; possible physical pain: difficulty sleeping: feelings of hunger & depression
Cannabis.	Calming & Relaxing	Mood swings: Outbursts of temper: aggression & anger.
Cocaine.	Increased feeling of energy, libido & excitement: strong high, especially when mixed with alcohol.	Lack of focus: Bored: Feelings of being depressed and frustrated: feeling bad about self: feeling very jumpy:
Alcohol	Loosens your inhibitions: has tranquilising effect: dissolves your ego:	Feelings of discomfort in close personal situations: Difficulty in asserting yourself: Feeling isolated & empty; possible feelings of guilt, remorse & shame: Also depressed & feelings of anxiety.

So as the man said “there’s no such thing as a free lunch”; everything has a ‘price’. The problem is that whilst you’re enjoying your drug(s) of choice, you might not think about the cost, just your need for the ‘benefits’. You might even feel that you don’t want to stop, that the ‘cost’ is worth it, fine, that’s your choice. Alternatively you might feel that you’re unable to stop, that the disadvantages of stopping are so difficult to live with, you feel forced to continue, leaving you with that hopeless feeling of being ‘locked in’. On the other hand you might feel you want to stop, but don’t know how. You may even have tried to quit before and failed; don’t despair, help is available, you don’t have to do this thing on your own, nor need it cost you an arm and a leg, to become free.

Whatever you decide to do, or before you decide to do anything, you might want to know whether you are just misusing alcohol and drugs, or whether you have become dependent on your drug(s) of choice, the following questions will help you decided for yourself:

Have you missed school, or work more than once in the past 12 months because of the effects of your drug(s) of choice?
Are you spending less time with your family, and/or friends because of the effects of your drug(s) of choice?
In the past 12 months, have you or anyone else experienced physical harm as the result of your drug(s) of choice?
Has your relationship, with loved ones been affected because of your use of your drugs(s) of choice?

If you have answered yes to more than one, it’s a safe bet that your drug(s) of choice are costing you more than money. If you have answered yes to two or more, check out the next set of questions. By the way if you thought, or have been led to believe that cannabis is a harmless drug, you might want to have a look at the ‘pros and cons’: go to www.health-concern.com and click on articles.

In the last 12 months, have you tried to quit?
How often in the last 12 months have you Found you were unable to stop drinking once you had started?
In the last 12 months have you experienced any of the following: increased heartbeat: hot or cold sweats; tightness in the chest; feelings of panic
In the last 12 months have you noticed a feeling of shakiness or a marked tremor in your hands?
In the last 12 months have you had feelings of nausea or vomiting after drinking or using?
In the last 12 months have you experienced feelings of guilt, remorse, or shame, or depression?
In the last 12 months have you experienced any of the following: unexplained noises: thought you had seen something, but found you were mistaken?
In the past 12 months have you felt more anxious than usual, but did not know why?
In the last 12 months have you experienced difficulties in sleeping?
In the past 12 months have you experienced any difficulties in having satisfactory sex, or been less inclined to have sex?

If you have answered ‘yes’ to two or more questions in table 2 and also ‘yes’ to two or more questions in table 3, the bad news is that you have probably become dependent on one or more of your drug(s) of choice. The good news is that whatever the outcome, you do have choices, you can continue as you are, or you can seek help, even if you’re not sure about whether or not you want to quit, you can still get help.

Your doctor is an obvious place to start, unfortunately many doctors are still not trained in dealing with problems of misuse or dependency however, you’re local community Drug and Alcohol Action Team (DAAT), is ready to help out. You should find them listed in your local telephone or Yellow Pages directory, alternatively Social Services, can put you in touch with them. There are several advantages in contacting your local DAAT, one of which is that you don’t need a referral from your GP, another is the fact that it does not cost you any money.

In addition both Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous have excellent web pages, which can give you further information and help you find where meetings in your area are held. Here again, all you need to do is turn up, it won’t cost you anything.

If none of the above appeal, and you would prefer to seek assistance on a private basis, the Federation of Drug and Alcohol Professionals (FDAP), also have a good web site with a directory of practitioners, or if you work or live in the Greater London area, you might want to contact me on 020 8663 6050, or email peteroloughlin5@hotmail.com

Whatever you choose to do, I wish you well. Do remember that even if you have tried to quit before, you are a not a ‘hopeless’ case. Addiction is a chronic disease, there is no cure for it, it is either active or passive, but it can be arrested with the right kind of help, that is, the kind of help that’s right for you. We’re all different, what works for one person, does not necessarily work for another.

Here at Eden Lodge, we work with where you’re at, rather than where someone has told you, you ought to be; we’ll take the time and the care to help you decide what you want to achieve, if we think that what you want is possible, we’ll work out a programme with you. If we don’t think that what you want is possible, we’ll tell you so, and offer some alternatives. Either way we’ll respect your choices. We know how difficult it is to stop; we also know how difficult it is to stay stopped. The good news is that the majority of our clients manage to do just that. We do not believe there are any incompetent clients, but there are some incompetent therapists.