HELP YOURSELF

Now that you have made the decision to help yourself tackle your drinking, here are some suggestions which may help you:

1                         Eat regular meals.  You will feel less likely to want a drink on a full stomach.

2                         If you get a craving for a drink this may be due to the body’s demand for liquid, which is often strong.  Drink plenty of fluids – but not alcohol.  Fruit juices, pop, mineral water, herbal teas will best satisfy your body’s need for plenty of liquid.

3                         Alcohol destroys Vitamin B in your body.  Take vitamin B tablets, and vitamin C also.  They can be obtained without prescription from most chemists and supermarkets, and are not habit forming.

4                         A feeling of depression can be a result of your system being physically out of sorts.  Look after your body; get some exercise.

5                         Avoid sitting gazing into space with your mind a complete blank.  Do something, anything positive, e.g.:

·               Go for a walk

·               Take a bath

·               Sort out your mail

·               Make a telephone call/write to a friend

·               Tidy up your room

Any of these will break a moody period.

6                         Identify now some people you feel you could turn to when you need someone to talk to.

7                         Have a plan for your day.  Write it down.  Don’t just muddle through.  You may not be able to carry out your plan fully, but give yourself credit for what you do.

8                         Easy does it.  Don’t try to do too much too quickly.  Take pride in what you do.

9                         Write a list of the situations which led you to drinking.  Make another list of what you can do to avoid getting into ‘risky’ situations.

10                     Drinking is not the answer to your problems; drinking almost always makes problems worse.