4th of July Partying and Out of Control Drinking
Why aren't problem drinkers getting help?
ROSWELL, GA, June 30, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- July 4th is one of the most deadly holiday periods of the year due to impaired driving. While many of these individuals are drinking because of the event or the social occasion, this is just another day of over-consuming for many others. In fact, a study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) indicated that 30% of Americans have had, or currently have, problems with alcohol. Alarmingly, a small fraction of these ever seek help. Why? Many issues - shame, social stigma, perceived expense, etc. Many more have tried to get help, but are turned off by what is taught about alcoholism. And in their gut they are correct to feel that way.
In 2007, national statistics indicate 34 percent of all drivers involved in traffic-related crashes during the July 4th holiday period had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 or higher, the legal limit in all states (http://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/2190). The number of these including problem drinkers may surprise you. According to the NIAAA, researchers found that 17.8 percent of those interviewed reported that they had abused alcohol at one time or another, and 12.5 percent reported alcohol dependence. About 24 percent of alcohol dependents seek help, and only 7 percent of the alcohol abusers ever seek help.
People need to change the way they view alcoholism and recovery. "I simply don't believe that alcoholism is a 'disease' and that we are fated to die a slow painful death due to our own self-destruction," says Liz Michael, president and founder of Second Chance Health & Wellness, Inc. and MODER8 , a dietary supplement and online program for helping problem drinkers gain control of their drinking.
Too many people picture recovery from alcoholism as sitting around a room, admitting that they are an alcoholic and that they are powerless over alcohol - or else in a rehab facility in a hospital gown and slippers. The truth is, for many, recovery is something completely different!
For Liz Michael, developer of the dietary supplement, MODER8, and founder of MODER8NOW.com, the struggle with alcohol began at an early age - at age 12. Over the next few decades, nothing had an effect on controlling her abuse; not academic suspensions, legal problems and parental intervention, nor professional counseling and support groups. Liz even attended Alcoholics Anonymous for 2 years, but then "graduated" and began drinking again. Liz eventually got married and had children. She made sure that she did not drink in front of her children because she was afraid that her children "carried the drinking gene" and would destroy their lives with alcohol should they ever try it.
Following a turbulent marriage and a brutal divorce, Liz soon remarried. Liz's new husband gave her the opportunity to quit working, so she gave up her career to be a stay-at-home mom. Liz quickly found that many areas of her life were lacking, no longer driven by a career and her children being gone with her ex-husband every other weekend, every other holiday, and most of the summer. She soon began turning to alcohol once again to fill the voids when her children were gone. Liz was consuming an unknown number of drinks a day, with her husband being the only person who really knew how much she was drinking. Liz was sure her life would end at a young age and she would never know her grandchildren.
But even with her unpredictable compulsion to drink, Liz was able to earn degrees in both biochemistry and biology and gain extensive experience as an analytical chemist and formulator. Eventually, the desire to regain control of her life directed her to several research studies that had identified a link in the brains of alcoholic families. Her subsequent findings about brain neurotransmitters and their role in controlling addictions, including alcoholism, led her to develop MODER8, the new alcohol moderation management dietary supplement.
"I remember being 6 beers into a 12-pack and thinking, 'well... I guess I'm going to have to go back to AA', but I really didn't want to. I honestly felt there had to be another way to get control. I had heard psychologists and experts say that alcoholism wasn't a disease, that there was no concrete evidence that it was genetic- but I thought they didn't know what they were talking about...because I had been taught that it was a disease, and it felt like a disease to me because I couldn't control it," says Liz.
Liz began researching, and began to realize that there are many contributing factors. For Liz, it was a matter of balancing her brain chemistry - which is why she developed MODER8, but she also had to LEARN how to deal with issues from which she was escaping - including an ended career and worrying so much about her children when they were gone. "A light turned on in my head - 'Alcoholism isn't a disease. It is a choice.' Those other psychologists and experts had been correct all along," says Michael. Now Liz is able to drink socially. Her drinking is completely under control and her mission is to help others realize that they can control their drinking as well. They don't have to feel stuck with a "disease" that they have no control over. They can - and many do - regain control of their lives and lose their dependence on alcohol. Liz has posted a plan for recovering from alcoholism on her website, www.MODER8NOW.com.
"But this is a very controversial approach to alcohol treatment," says Liz, "In fact I've received a number of emails from people claiming that I'm full of crap or wondering how many people I'll kill with this mentality. I understand how they feel. I was once in AA and believed that I could only socialize with people from AA, believed that I was powerless over alcohol, and that if I took a sip of alcohol I would go right back into a binge." Liz believes that while biochemically she may have been pre-disposed to drinking out of control, she had also never developed the skills to live life by dealing with its stresses and problems without drinking to escape them. Says Liz, "I had never really even learned how to have healthy fun! Alcohol was my greatest source of pleasure, fun, reward and escape."
Research has shown that no one method works better than others - there is no magic bullet or panacea. Yet, studies have also shown that patients can "cure" themselves with the right tools and techniques. The first step is realizing that they do not have a "disease", but rather have been making bad choices.
According to Michael, "If you think you might have a problem - it's OK. Don't let shame and stigma keep you from trying to get some help. There are many different types of treatment and support groups. Start looking on the Internet, in the privacy of your own home, and start looking into the various different solutions and programs. MODER8NOW.com offers a dietary supplement to help you balance your physiology that could be out of balance from abusing substances, or perhaps was a part of your original physiological makeup - and it also provides tools on the website to help you determine WHY you abuse alcohol and what to do about it. There are many others, such as MYWAYOUT.org and PASSAGESMALIBU.com. Here's a HINT: There isn't anything 'wrong with you' and you don't have a disease. You simply have chosen alcohol as a way to deal with things and you need to learn how to deal with them in a healthy way. The truth is almost everyone has some form of escape to some degree or another - either through food, shopping, gambling, watching TV, computer games, etc. The list goes on."
The important thing for the alcohol abuser to realize is that they can beat alcoholism - and it doesn't have to be in an AA room or rehab facility. Michael believes, "You just have to find a reason for yourself, focusing on the solution - the solution being the life that you want to lead without alcohol tearing it down - and not focusing on the problem - the alcohol itself. Focusing on the 'solution' versus the problem is ever so much more motivating for making successful life decisions and changes."
"It's not easy, and it usually doesn't happen overnight, but you can do it!"
Press Release Contact Information:
Liz Michael
Moder 8
Principal
P.O. Box 767759
Roswell, GA
USA 30076
Voice: 404-550-0392
Website: Visit Our Website
