I celebrated my 50th birthday just over 3 years ago. I was aware by then that my relationship with alcohol had slowly and quietly changed to dependency. I, like many other people, utilized alcohol to lift my mood, dull my disappointment, boost my confidence and erase my resentment. What was once a helpful aid, alcohol dependency made me feel ashamed, secretive and unhealthy both mentally and physically. My aim was not to abstain from drinking but to have a healthier relationship with drinking. AA was not the answer for this busy mother and wife. For someone who is not religious, its cult-like doctrine is of concern. The methodology is antiquated and remains rooted in the largely unsuccessful Temperance movement and Prohibition era. Where AA fails is its inability to overcome the Alcohol Deprivation Effect which is obvious by its low ongoing success rate. In contrast, The Sinclair Method is a modern approach with scientific data to confirm its success. Today, in the midst of the Covid
The life of a much loved mother and vibrant woman from our school community was cut short recently. She was intoxicated and while resisting help to get into an ambulance, fell and hit her head and went into a coma. She died two days later. The shock followed by the tittering of gossip (yes, normal) was followed by personal introspection (normal). Perhaps you are you asking yourself, "could this have been me?" I’m sure I’m not the only person who has been told that this beautiful person had a problem with alcohol. There was no malice but it does shine a light on how our society processes that information. Out of respect for our friend, it's vitally important to dispel some common myths here. "Why couldn't they just stop?" No one sets out to or wants to become alcohol dependent. If it was as easy as "just stopping" then there would be no alcoholics. "They must have been unhappy!" No, it's purely an addiction. The brain o