Are you drinking too much?

Are you worried about alcohol abuse or alcoholism? Here are the signs of problem drinking.

It’s a common question. How do you know if you have a drinking problem?  

Drinking alcohol is a problem if it causes trouble in your relationships, atwork or in school, in social activities, or in how you think and feel.

The signs of alcohol abuse:

1. The need to drink before confronting certain  

     situations 

2. Frequent intoxication

3. A steady increase in the amount of alcohol 

    consumed

4. Solitary drinking

5. Early morning drinking

6. Denial of drinking

7. Family disruptions over drinking

8. Blackouts or temporary amnesia

9. Continuing to drink despite adverse 

    consequences from drinking

If you’re still not sure if you have a problem with drinking alcohol, take this alcohol screening test. And check this out if you’re interested in learning how to cut down on your drinking.

What is the difference between alcohol abuse and alcoholism?

Alcohol abuse differs from alcoholism in that it does not include

an extremely strong craving for alcohol, loss of control, or physical

dependence. In addition, alcohol abuse is less likely than alcoholism to include tolerance (the need for increasing amounts of alcohol to get high). Problem drinking can be successfully treated with brief intervention by primary care physicians. Alcohol addiction is a lifelong disease with a relapsing, remitting course.

Alcoholism is an addictive dependency on alcohol characterised by:

1. craving (a strong need to drink)

2. loss of control (being unable to stop)

3. physical dependence and withdrawal symptoms

4. tolerance (increasing difficulty of becoming drunk)

Alcoholism is a type of drug dependence. There is both physical and psychological dependence on alcohol. Alcoholism is a primary, chronic, progressive, and sometimes fatal disease due to the habitual use of alcohol often described as any "harmful use" of alcohol--meaning the alcoholic continues to drink despite recurrent social, personal, physical, or legal consequences as a result of their alcohol use.

If you or someone you love is in he grips of alcohol addiction call us today and let us help you 07 5606 6315.  Website www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au.  Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.

Meth Addiction: Triggered by Weightloss and Body Image issues.

Here at Coaching With Substance we are noticing a disturbing new trend of teenage girls and young women who use the drug crystal meth to lose weight -- up to 18 kilograms a month.

This is a recipe for disaster. This combination of body image issues and the drug's weight loss appeal.

Crystal meth, the street version of the drug methamphetamine, is an a very addictive stimulant that causes elation and alertness in addition to curbing appetite. Meth users can smoke, snort, inject or swallow the drug.

  

They usually ingest a crude combination of cold medicine, brake cleaner, fertiliser, drain cleaner and iodine along with a myriad of other chemicals.

Meth is an appetite suppressant. It's a drug that will give you stimulation for 12 hours, with no need to eat and no need to sleep. It's also cheap -- between $5 to $10 per hit -- and has consequently been labelled the "poor man's cocaine."

Young women know and find out quickly that there are drugs that do reduce your appetite and cause you to lose weight, and meth is so affordable.

At CWS we are recording and alarming increase of calls from parents of teenage girls aged12 to 18. These women have such a distorted body image.

According to the World Health Organization, methamphetamine is the most widely used illicit drug in the world after cannabis. We're in this era of stimulant drugs -- "the need for speed". But when it comes to body image, we also seem to have the need to be thin.

Methamphetamine has been around for decades. It was marketed in North America in the 1920s as a weight-loss drug. It was touted for its dietary benefits. It's amazing that in the first place this drug was used was for weight loss.

Meth is relatively simple to make. There are thousands of recipes on the Internet and police estimate that an investment of about $150 can yield an amount worth about $10,000 on the street. But it also has lethal side effects. Meth use can cause insomnia, hallucinations, paranoia and anxiety as well as heart problems, convulsion, brain damage and death.

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN THE GRIPS OF METH ADDICTION CALL US TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE. PHONE 07 560 66315

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

Email info@coachingwithsubstance.org.auinfo@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.

Bulimia Is An Addictive Behaviour That Has Negative Consequences

B U L I M I A 

Most people have heard the expression binge and purge and recognise that it refers to bulimia nervosa. Whereas bulimia is characterised by this binge-purge cycle, it is so much more than eating and vomiting. True, a woman or adolescent with bulimia will consume huge quantities of food -- often to the point of extreme physical discomfort -- then induce vomiting. If vomiting is not an option, due to inability or general disgust of the behaviour, she may turn to excessive exercise or laxative abuse. 

But the question remains "why do people do this?" 

Bulimia, like most eating disorders, is not about FOOD, it's about FEELINGS. Bulimia is used by people as a way to cope with unpleasant emotions. Say a young woman goes away to university. She feels a tremendous amount of pressure to prove herself academically. This need to achieve is added to the normal stressors of making friends, fitting in, adjusting to dorm life. She is far from home and family support. These negative feelings of anxiety, stress, and perhaps depression, build up. Indeed, she is overwhelmed by these emotions. But she discovers that her stress diminishes markedly when eating. 

While looking at food, touching and tasting, she feels better ... so she eats. Not surprisingly, after ingesting so much food, she is consumed by guilt and concerned about weight gain ... so she purges it from her system. The act of vomiting causes her brain to release soothing endorphins into her bloodstream, which provides a sense of calm. When the stress builds again, she repeats the behavior; before she knows it, she is addicted to the bulimic behavior. 

The problem with bulimia is that it seems to work, at first. But the short-term social consequences and the long-term medical complications are immense  JUST LIKE ANY OTHER ADDICTIVE PROCESS. 

Bulimia is a very real and a very dangerous addictive illness. If you struggle with bulimia, keep in mind, there is nothing wrong with your feelings, there are simply healthier ways to deal with them. Consider recovery coaching so you can have a team of specialists to ensure bulimia is no longer a problem for you. 

IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU LOVE IS IN THE GRIPS OF THIS DISEASE, CALL US TODAY FOR IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE. PHONE 07 560 66315

 

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

 

Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

ABOUT COACHING WITH SUBSTANCE (WINNER Best Not-for-Profit 2014)

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency for Australasia and New Zealand. Call us on 07 5606 6315 if you want to speak to an Addiction Specialist.

Our Founder, Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first of its kind in Australia as registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association that focuses on wellness using coaching principles of peak performance. She is currently completing her PhD on Recovery Coaching and is the first registered Recovery Coach in Australia.

We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance.

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Taoist Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome.

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.

Avoiding A 'Wet Brain'

Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome or ’Wet Brain’ 

Background: In 1881, Carl Wernicke first described an illness that consisted of paralysis of eye movements, inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements, and mental confusion in 3 patients. The patients, 2 males with alcoholism with progression to coma and death. Wernicke detected holes and bleeding affecting the grey matter in some parts of the brain. 

S.S. Korsakoff, a Russian psychiatrist, described the disturbance of memory in the course of long-term alcoholism in a series of articles from 1887-1891. 

In 1897, Murawieff first postulated that a single cause of a disease was responsible for both syndromes – Wernicke syndrome and Korsakoff syndrome. Or, in common terms – ‘wet brain’. 

The term Wernicke encephalopathy is used to describe the symptom complex of paralysis of some nerves of the eye, inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements, and an acute confusional state. If persistent learning and memory deficits are present, the symptom complex is termed Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. 

Cause; A lack of thiamine (vitamin B-1) is responsible for the symptom manifested in Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and any condition resulting in a poor nutritional state places drinkers at risk. 

Heavy, long-term alcohol use is the most common association with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome. Alcohol interferes with active stomach juice transport, and chronic liver disease leads to decreased activation of thiamine, as well as a decreased capacity of the liver to store thiamine. 

Statistics 

* Prevalence data have come primarily from post-mortem studies, with rates of 1 to 3%. 

* The rate has been found to be significantly higher in specific populations, ie, homeless people, older people (especially those living alone or in isolation), and psychiatric inpatients, where alcohol use and poor nutritional states predominate. 

* The death rate is 10-20%. That is if you get it you have a 10 to 20% chance of an early death. 

* In general, full recovery of eye function occurs. Fine horizontal eye movement can persist in as many as 60% of cases. 

* Approximately 40% of patients have complete recovery from inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements. 

* Only 20% of patients recover completely from partial loss of memory deficit. 

* The rates of the disease are similar across races. 

* The condition affects males slightly more frequently than it affects females. 

* Age of onset is evenly distributed from 30-70 years. 

Eye/visual disturbances 

* Painless vision abnormalities 

* Double vision 

* squint 

Gait abnormalities 

* Wide-based, short-stepped gait 

* Inability to stand or walk without assistance 

Mental status changes 

* Apathy, indifference, insufficient speech 

* Hallucination, agitation 

* Confabulation: Patient fills in gaps of memory with data that can be recalled at that moment. 

Medical Care: Wernicke encephalopathy is a medical emergency. Prompt recognition of the symptoms and a high index of suspicion are crucial to ensure early treatment. Intravenous thiamine (50-100 mg) is the treatment of choice. 

alcohol drugs Wernicke Korsakoff Syndrome 

Functional Alcoholic? 

Early treatment can rapidly reverse the eye problems and improve inability to coordinate voluntary muscle movements and early mental confusion, as well as prevent development of the partial loss of memory state. In advanced cases, where severe prolonged deficiency has led to permanent structural brain damage, permanent thinking deficits remain. 

 

Long-term alcohol use is the most common aetiology for Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome, and abstinence provides the best chance for recovery. Referral to an alcohol recovery program should be part of the treatment regimen. 

A balanced diet should be resumed as early as possible. Vitamin and should be adhered to in addition to a well-balanced diet initially, and supplementation can be tapered as the patient resumes normal intake and demonstrates improvement. 

Due to gait abnormalities, unassisted ambulation is discouraged during the initial phase of treatment. Patients may require physical therapy evaluation for gait assistance. Gait abnormalities may be permanent, depending on the severity at initial presentation and the timeliness of therapy. 

Recovering patients will require outpatient follow-up care to evaluate for continued progress or relapse. 

Patients should continue taking thiamine supplementation, as well as other vitamins and electrolytes, until a well-balanced diet can be maintained. Long-term supplementation may be required in patients who cannot maintain adequate nutritional intake, whether from noncompliance or the underlying disorder. 

If you or someone you love or care about is in the grips of alcoholism, call us today for help with choosing addiction treatment options that is right for you at 07 56 066 315.

Web: www.coachingwithsubstance.org.au

 

Email: info@coachingwithsubstance.org.au

About Coaching With Substance

 

We are Australia's leading award winning addiction treatment and rehab consultants for gambling, drugs, alcohol, sex, eating and internet addiction, along with eating behavioural disorders and co-dependency. 

Maria Pau is a 4x No. 1 best-selling author on the subjects of addiction and co-dependency and spiritual wellness. She is the Program Director of Coaching with Substance, the first registered public benevolent institution, charity and not-for profit association in Australia that focuses on wellness instead of illness, using coaching principles for peak performance. We run a cutting edge holistic addiction treatment program and outpatient rehabilitation consultancy firm that ensures you are released from the shackles of addiction once and for all. 

Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance. 

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome. 

We also welcome enquiries from English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America. 

Primary care at CWS is personalised to treat each individual using programs that integrate mind, body and soul. CWS programs are enhanced by highly effective group coaching and therapeutic processes as well as individual coaching, spiritual insights, therapy and extensive aftercare assistance. 

All clients are thoroughly assessed by a highly trained and experienced recovery coach, registered provisional psychologist, ordained Monk, mental health officer and certified naturopaths (including Ayurveda and Acupuncturist). Clients may also be referred for psychometric testing and assessment, if needed. International clients welcome. 

We welcome enquiries from all English speaking people from Asia, Europe, Africa, India and South America.