As an Allen Carr Stop Drinking Facilitator, here is some advice to help you successfully stop drinking.
- It’s a mental game. “The magic of drugs resides not within the drugs themselves, but the mind of the user.” ~ Dr Andrew Weil. Alcohol addiction is 1% physical and 99% mental. Knowing that controlling your drinking is a mental game is excellent news as it means you are not weak, lacking willpower, broken, flawed, stupid, or a bad person. You have a misunderstanding of why you drink that is creating a fear of stopping. When you understand why you drink, it’s easy to stop.
- Irrational Fear. You are trapped in a tug-of-war, caught between two fears: The fear of continuing to drink on the one hand and the fear of life without alcohol on the other. That is why willpower has not been working for you. Increasing your willpower has only increased the tension on your mental tug-of-war rope! This method gets rid of the fear of stopping. Without fear, it’s easy to stop.
- Cutting back doesnt work. You suffer the harmful effects of a drug based on the size and frequency of your dosing. Therefore, you will suffer fewer adverse effects if you drink less or less frequently. But, cutting back creates deprivation, which will strengthen desire and cravings as alcohol now becomes a forbidden fruit. Cutting back makes it harder to stop.
- Don’t stop drinking. If you have stopped drinking already, there’s no need to start. If you are drinking, don’t cut down. Continue to drink as you normally would until you are ready to attend a Stop Drinking Seminar or to read the book. You don't want to be deprived and miserable engaging in this material but relaxed and open-minded.