Everyone is talking about the Matt Willis Documentary, Fighting Addiction.

I think it’s fab when people share their stuff so openly.  It provokes thought and discussion for many.

This morning I have already had some great discussions about different topics that have come up from the documentary.

There are a few key points I would like to address.

Triggers 

People, places, times, feelings, events that cause you to drink.  Anyone who has had a problem with drugs and alcohol will know exactly what I mean.  We all have triggers, learning about our triggers, mitigating the risk is part of the work.  We can’t know all of our triggers from the beginning, we know some; quite often we learn about them as we go on and this is ok.

Now where this gets important is when you’re drinking, or drug use has a significant impact on your life.  Things like your using is life threatening, the amount you use, the combination of using could cause overdose or...

Its that time of year again.

Christmas can be a real test for those of us that have given up something or are struggling to gain control. Or maybe you’re someone that struggles to regulate your intake of anything.

Depending on what your poison is will depend on how difficult this festive season might be.

Alcohol is probably the top one, it’s pretty much everywhere anyway, but something happens at Christmas that seems to make alcohol multiply like I have never seen before or is it just me!!

Food and sugar is another hard one, the whole thing is about food. What is it that happens to an office on the run up to Christmas it seem to turn into a junk food feeding ground, pastries, cakes, chocolate you name it its available in the bucket load.

So what can you do if you are alcohol free, attempting moderation or even just want to be healthy. 

Here are my 10 tips for surviving the festive season.

1. Remember there are no rules you don’t have to fit in with everyone...

On confidence

Stephanie has invited me to do a piece about confidence. Am I confident enough I wonder? Go on then!

Confidence, I have recently learned, comes from one’s self esteem and feeling of self-worth. This is developed in (about) the 4^th year of life when we experience how significant we are to our parents, or care givers. To be dear to someone, to have closeness and connection. Eventually, through adolescence and then when we become adults, we learn that we can create this very connection with ourselves, and become self-aware, to believe in ourselves, to support ourselves, stand on our own two feet.

Of course, we all know the notion of “having one’s confidence knocked”. That is when we momentarily doubt our self-worth. Mostly because of a situation or circumstance where we, erroneously, compare ourselves to others. We forget our own significance within.

The good news is that confidence (self-esteem, self-worth) can be learned and can be expanded...

I want to talk about the bicycle of change.

So some of you, if you work in health or behaviour change will have heard of the cycle of change.

Pre contemplation.

Contemplation.

Preparation.

Action.

Maintenance.

Relapse. (just checking you saw that in there).

Yes relapse is part of the process. You can call it whatever you want.

This isnt just restricted to drugs and alcohol either.

Think about healthy eating, exercise, drinking water etc.

Now when people describe this, its not actually a fair representation of what happens, as its a cycle, makes it sound like a circle, people might feel like they are going round and round.

But you are not.

This is why we will refer to it as the bicycle of change.

Because yes, we are human, yes we are learning machines, yes we learn by making mis-takes. But we keep moving forward.

We learn from our alcohol free days, our days when we dont drink very much, our reductions, as well as our moments when we have a blip.

And we move forward, might not feel...

I am a qualified Coach and Master Practitioner of NLP, trainer and manager. Over the last 15 years, I have helped many people from all walks of life facilitate change - specifically helping people to change their relationship with alcohol and drugs.

People often come to me when they have decided, "I want to stop drinking," or "I want to stop taking drugs" I help them get clear on how to make this change and support them through it.

10 Core Things I Stand For (in the context of my work)

Learning - this one is massive; learn about alcohol, learn about drugs (I know alcohol is a drug, but I have to say that so you know what I am talking about). This is where I want you to start; learn about the substance you are taking, the facts. Make an informed choice about what you are putting into your body and the impact on you and your life. If you don’t know where to start, message me.

Action - You can think, read, listen, overthink, analyse; but seriously, just take action....

Blip, slip, relapse; I don’t mind what you call it.  Please don’t use language that makes you feel like shit.

It doesn’t matter what your drug of choice is: alcohol, cocaine, crappy food (although not a drug, people do use it in a similar way). When life changes, even subtly, its super easy to find ourselves reaching for our old favourite to cope, to comfort us, to escape, to fill time, because well, whats the point?

I am going to talk about lockdown in England specifically, although I am sure the psychology of it is similar in other countries.

For most of us, in some way (to different degrees), the rug has been pulled out from under us.

Now this isn’t about moaning or being entitled, this is a fact.

It doesn’t have to be a massive problem, most of us know that what we are experiencing are first world problems and we know that we are lucky.

That’s not the point.

I haven't relapsed, but I understand how it can happen. The...

One thing is for sure, we are living in unprecedented times.

Lots of change happening.

Its too early to tell what the impact will be on certain markets, including drug markets.

However we can be sure, that people wont stop taking drugs, so people wont stop selling, where there is a demand, there will always be someone that can figure out how to get it to you.

Drug dealers are some of the most resourceful and entrepreneurial people I have ever met. 

Take alcohol for instance, people have been panic buying, stocking up and off licences, supermarkets are still open.  This tells us that people are worried about making sure they have enough booze, even when they know logically, they can still buy it every day.

We can assume that people have been stockpiling their favourite drug as well.  I would imagine, cannabis, cocaine and ketamine are the favs, maybe a bit of ecstasy and acid. 

Lets take cocaine, chances are less of it will come into the country, but it will still...

If you are struggling, feeling depressed, low, anxious, not sleeping well, have an overactive brain, roller coaster emotions, the list goes on. Please, take a break from drinking alcohol.

Effects of alcohol on the brain

If you drink alcohol regularly, it will have an effect on you, your physical health or most likely your mental health at some point. The effects of alcohol on the brain have been well documented.

Let's take sleep on its own.  Alcohol impacts on your ability to get good quality sleep.  If you are tired and not sleeping properly this alone will affect your emotional health.

Do you drink regularly? Could you cut down? Does it affect your sleep?   When was the last time you took a break from alcohol?

First things first, take a break; 3 months at least.  Then re-assess, see how you feel.  Most people will feel better within the first few weeks.  While you are taking a break, sleep, be nice to yourself, take it easy, eat healthy food, do...

A few words about anxiety and uncertainty.

Here is the thing, there are no guarantees in life.

Well I can guarantee that how you are feeling now will change, because everything changes. Like the weather, you can wake up feeling sad and then by the end of the day, feel good. The same way you can wake up and its sunny, then it will be raining by the afternoon.

There is so much that we dont know, or cant predict, we need to make peace with uncertainty.

If your thoughts are running away with you, please remember this, you are not your thoughts.
Your thoughts are just a small part of your human machine, like your heart beating, your blood pumping, lungs breathing, eyes seeing and so on.

Most of your thoughts are not real, or helpful.
Treat them like back seat drivers, tell them to shut up.

If you take a moment to imagine that your thoughts are another person, lets give them a name. What would you say if that person kept speaking to you, in the same way your thoughts do?

You would...

Ok, there are a few things I want you to be aware for your first few months of quitting Cocaine.

(Well actually I am sure there is a book load, but for now we will start with the most important things for when you stop Cocaine use. I have helped many people change their behaviour with cocaine, and these are the things that I have found are key).

Ok let's start at the beginning with the obvious.  Cocaine is a drug, we take it because we like it, well that's why you started.  It feels nice, it releases all those feel good chemicals in the brain and with the adrenaline, a bit of excitement and pleasure is always nice.

Pleasure, reward.  You do this with certain people, at certain times in certain places. Maybe you combine Cocaine with alcohol. You are setting anchors, making habits.

You might even notice that with certain people you want to take cocaine with them, the urge is strong, or it's when in a certain place like at a bar when you want to mix cocaine and...