Last year I was interviewed by a treatment provider (Harris House) about our work in Bottled Up.  These are my  responses to their questions. Dr. John McMahon, co-founder of Bottled Up, is an expert on addiction whose passion is to help and support the families of addicts. Here, John shares about his personal experience with addiction …

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Alanon is an organisation that some people find useful and others don’t.  It is the main family group for people who live with an alcoholic.   If you are someone who hates being in groups, hates talking about yourself  and your life, and hates being given advice then Alanon is almost certainly not a place that you will …

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Christmas - a magical period or a time of dread? Xmas is surrounded by hype, with the media presenting it as a magical time when everybody is happy and love and joy abounds.  For many, expectations run high that the festive season will be wonderful.  However, for people who live with an alcoholic the lead …

Continue reading "Live with an alcoholic: A Survival Guide to Xmas"

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The self-help field has become exactly that - self help. But I want to help my drinker instead! If you have been around the field of recovery for a while this may not be a question that you would ever verbalise in public. You cannot change your drinker (drones the Greek Chorus in the background); change must …

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Another question I’m often asked is do I have to give up drinking for the rest of my life?  Will I be able to drink again safely, maybe later?

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Hi there, another question I get asked quite often is what do I do if I get craving for drink? How do I handle that?

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Hi years ago I used to work in an alcohol rehab and I’ve seen many people come and go, some being successful, some not being successful.

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Years ago when I was working in a rehab there was a guy in there who had been sober for a short amount of time. I mean it was days rather than weeks and he was invited to a wedding.

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If we are going to reduce the incidence and effects of addiction then, rather than have a system that substitutes one dependence for another, what we really need is a system that allows people to be free of dependence, of any kind

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We can all overindulge on occasion but if these occasions are becoming more frequent and you are experiencing an increasing number of these signs then maybe you need to take a hard look at your lifestyle and your drinking.

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