Category: Alcoholism

Continuing with the series of - Things I know now that wish I had known ...., Lou talks about the beginning of her relationship.  What would she have done differently, would she still have got married or what would she have changed.  Find out by watching this video. To watch the other videos in this …

Continue reading "Things I wish I had known at the beginning of my relationship"

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This is the first in another short series of videos.  In this series we are answering the question - If I had known then what I do now then ,,,,,? In this first video John is answering the question about the beginning of his drinking.  It is about Problem drinking signs I wish I had …

Continue reading "Problem Drinking Signs I Wish I had not Ignored"

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This is the second video in this short series about 1 to 1 with John.  In the series Lou interviews John about his sessions and asks him about the most common issues that arise. In this video John discusses the most common issue of all, that people just need to talk, to share what is …

Continue reading "I’m Listening"

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Promote Change In this part of the cycle you will start to promote change. The direct goal of the change is NOT to get him/her to stop drinking, or even to cut down their drinking.  However, it is entirely possible that these may be the indirect effects of your actions.

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Today’s topic s learned helplessness. This is a quote from Medical News Today.  Learned helplessness is a state that occurs after a person has experienced a stressful situation repeatedly.  They come to believe that they are unable to control or change the Situation so they do not try, even when opportunities for change become available. …

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Assess The Harm Possibly you don’t think that you need to do an assessment of the harm that alcohol is doing in your life.  After all, you have lived with it and it has caused severe disruption, heartache and pain in your home. and you know the problems only too well.  We would certainly not suggest …

Continue reading "HOPE – Assess the Harm"

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HOPE HOPE is an acronym (a word made up from the initial letters of other words).  However it was not an acronym that was chosen at random, quite the reverse.  It was an acronym that was chosen to encapsulate the message that Bottled-up aims to spread.  There is hope in drinking relationships, it does not …

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Sometimes we feel that there is no hope that its not worth going on.  If you are feeling that way, then this video is for you. In the video we discuss various aspects surrounding hope and some ways that we can build hope and sometimes that we need to view it in a different way.  …

Continue reading "When You Feel that Hope is Slipping Away"

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In a previous video blog post when we discussed the components of LOVE, we talked about Valuing the drinker.  Unfortunately that video seemed to provoke a bit of controversy.  Some people liked what we said, some were a bit less sure and a couple were upset by it. We can honestly say that the last …

Continue reading "Positivity and Pragmatism"

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E is for Encourage change. Anyone changing any behaviour needs encouragement and affirmation. Drinkers are no different in that respect. Giving encouragement also helps you to feel part of that change, that it is a team thing, rather than something that s/he is struggling with alone.
OK, we can just hear that protests, but they are still drinking, so what’s to encourage!? Over the last few decades we have come to regard change as all or nothing, especially in drinking. The disease model of alcoholism tends to promote that attitude.

If we adopt that criteria for change – drinking vs not drinking – then many will be disappointed as it does not always happen like that. Sometimes changes can be small, like drinking less or less often or respecting a boundary that you have agreed, or agreeing to look for .help.
Recognising these small changes and affirming them can help to produce more and bigger changes. It can also help you by increasing your sense of hope.

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