Using SHARE to Help Yourself

We created SHARE for two reasons.  First we created it as a device to examine your life and especially the consequences that drinking has on it.  We felt that what was needed was a robust tool that would allow people to make a comprehensive and meaningful assessment of their lives.  Secondly we wanted this assessment to have a purpose, that is that it would lead to more than a list of problems and things to be discontented about.  Therefore we view SHARE as a tool that will help you to reclaim control of your life.

SHARE is designed to fit into the process of HOPE and follows the steps laid out in HOPE.

• Assess the situation, what impact is drinking having on your life
• Arrange a meeting with the drinker to discuss these issues
• Explore options to reduce the impact
• Evaluate the process

Using SHARE to Assess your Situation

As we discussed previously SHARE is an acronym for the important areas of your life that may be affected by alcohol.  SHARE is a device that allows you to assess where and how much the impact of alcohol has on your life and so give you a strategy to address and reduce this impact.  However this is an active exercise which means that you need to put in a little work.

The work is mostly paper and pencil exercises to begin with but it is essential to carry out these exercises if you are going to get the benefit of SHARE.  Having carried out the exercises you will have a much better picture of the problems and a better plan of how to address them.

This will almost certainly be the first time that you have examined your life in this way.  For many of you the outcome will be a surprise.  For some it may be pleasant for others less so.  However if you genuinely want to address the issues then this is an important exercise.

Remember you may not be able to control his/her drinking but you can lessen the impact.