Problem Drinker vs Alcoholic

What's the difference between a problem drinker and an alcoholic? Just this week, I saw 4 new clients struggling with this exact question. Most people don't understand the difference between someone who drinks a lot and someone who has a diagnosable alcohol use disorder.

Can I be honest with you? The difference between a problem drinker and an alcoholic is that they're only one stage away from becoming a full-blown alcoholic. 

People who are problematic drinkers usually move over into alcohol use disorder eventually, but they do so in stages. 

Here are the 4 stages of alcoholism:

1. Experimentation- This doesn't indicate a problem. Usually just socially drinking
2. They start to drink more frequently, harder alcohol, or heavier drinking.
3. Consequences start to happen. This is when someone starts drinking and can't stop. Problems begin to trickle in because of alcohol use. 
4. The problematic drinking continues and bridges begin to burn. Meaning...

Caring for someone with an addiction is a long scary journey. There are days when it seems all is lost. At times, Scott admits that he had days where he thought, "This is never going to get better." His two sons are now in recovery.

In this live interview with a family recovery coach, Scott Nunnery, we talk about finding hope even on the darkest of days.  

Some things to consider if you're having a really hard day:

• Remember that you're not powerless
• Go to a family group/meeting
• Lower your expectations
• Educate yourself 
• Turn your problem over to a higher power
• Don't forget to take care of yourself

Make an appointment with Scott to discuss your situation! 

Watch this next:

After Rehab (What To Expect When Your Kid Leaves Addiction Treatment)

Emotional triggers--we all have them some are sometimes they're more difficult to deal with than others. Instead of trying to stay away from emotions, it’s important to learn healthy ways to deal with all the different emotions you might experience.  

I'm going to break this down into a 4-step simple process.

Read-(Recognize, Evaluate, Ask, Decide)

Recognize when you're having an emotional trigger. Be conscious of when you're triggered. Why is this helpful? When you're emotionally triggered, your brain drives the boat when it's activated. But we want the thinking part driving. To avoid this, you have to activate the thinking part of your brain. We don't make good decisions when we make them emotionally.

Evaluate where the emotion is coming from. "Am I being emotionally triggered by something that's going on currently?" OR "Is this something that went on in my childhood that is coming back?"

Ask yourself what you want to do about it. Let...

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This week, we asked you to write in to our team to suggest a topic for our live video and you delivered! 

In this video, I cover these questions and more: 

• Co-parenting with an alcoholic
• Preventing relapse into addictive behaviors
• Dealing with a relapse, and getting a functional alcoholic out of denial

Ps- you can write in topic suggestions for next week's video! Send your email to [email protected], describe your situation, ask a question, and then look for it on next week's live. Every Thursday at 1 pm (EST) on our YouTube channel.

Amber Hollingsworth

Get Access To Our FREE Addiction Recovery Resources

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People usually get defensive when confronted about their addiction, but you can use a few techniques to bypass their defensiveness.

I'm going to break this down into sections when it comes to talking to your loved one about their addiction, their denial, recovery, relapse, etc. What I'm going to share always needs to be top of mind when you're having a conversation about it so there's no conflict, arguments, or them putting a wall up and not speaking.

Contemplative Stage of Change 

If your loved one is saying things like "I wish I could get better" or "I'm tired of feeling stuck" Contemplators know that they have a problem and begin to think about how they're going to solve it.

Caution: You have to take the queue from them first. If you come at them with a lot of information too fast, you're going to lose them and your credibility, which will only slow down the process.  Your first goal is to help them see that's there's a problem. 

Active Stage of...

The Enneagram is a personality typing system that will help better understand your key motivations, uncover your strengths, and identify your weaknesses.  Understanding this information will help you break free of unproductive patterns and gain control of your destiny.

Here are my most RECOMMENDED ENNEAGRAM BOOKS!

The Essential Enneagram: The Definitive Personality Test and Self-Discovery Guide by HarperOne

This is a great starter book.  It will help you identify your Enneagram personality type and gain a basic understanding of how the Enneagram system works. 

Get this book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3p6IvhZ

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The Enneagram Made Easy: Discover the 9 Types of People by Elizabeth Wagele and Renee Baron

The first easy—and fun—guide to the Enneagram, the fascinating and revealing method of understanding personality types, for the beginner, the expert, and...