Six sobriety-saving holiday season tips

Here are six field-tested tactics for handling the holidays sober, and it doesn't matter if it is the first or your 10th alcohol-free holiday. (Read the transcript or share the YouTube video today)

1) Find sober celebrations. Not as rare as you might think. If you're timid, take someone along with you who might be even newer to sobriety. If there aren't celebrations, it could be time for a diversion like a museum or pick a dry theater and watch Star Wars. All the older kids are doing it.

2) Bail out. There is nothing wrong with the word no. We were all pretty creative with excuses for our drinking this drug. If you are even slightly apprehensive about an event, put the same creativity to use for why you can't go. And if you're busted telling a little white one… isn't it better than possibly challenging your sobriety? Real friends understand.

3) If you can't bail, bring candy. Seriously. Satisfying an oral fixation can make a difference. The taste on your palate will make alcohol flavorings less inviting, too. If you ever had a beer on top of a candy cane, you know.

4) Never stay late if you do go. Our reputations as the last soldiers standing – gone. Be the first leaving. Everyone has seen a dreaded morning after or the photos of the night before and uttered the words, 'I shoulda left way earlier.' The more tired you get, the weaker your defenses become anyway. My grandmother's rule was that nothing good ever happens after 10 pm.

5) Go help another alcoholic who might be struggling. The twelve-steppers founded their fellowship on this simple act. Even if you're not a twelve-stepper or vow to never be one, give this a try. It works.

6) Breathe. The holidays are loaded with financial stress, family stress, traffic stress, cold-and-flu stress, and end-of-year work stress in addition to the normal everyday stress of life. Alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike drink to relieve stress. There isn't a single stressor that is cured by drinking: There isn't one that got worse because you chose to just breathe rather than drinking it off the calendar.

By the way, these six aren't just for the end of the year and the start of a new one. They work anytime.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today. Stevens also is the public relations officer with AddictedMinds.com and works with TheAddictionsAcademy as well.

Overcome two objections to an alcoholism intervention over the Holidays

This is the time for holiday cheer and family memories and Norman Rockwell-esque Christmas scenes with smiling families gathered around a tree or a fire. Hopefully, not both. The reality for families of the 20 million adults in the U.S. challenged by addiction to alcohol or other drugs is more like the beginning of the Grinch tale, than the end. (Watch the YouTube video or see the online article)

Holidays are a stressful time in addition to being a time of joy. Alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike drink to ease stress. The alcoholic can't stop at one. Or six. Or on his own. And how many times, after a tear-filled holiday or blacked-out Christmas on the couch has the drinker vowed: Next holiday will be better, I promise? It's part of the way we alcoholics protect our drug. We shove the quit date off to buy one more day or week or season. We make promises. And sometimes it isn't even that we mean to break them. An alcohol abuser can quit but won't… an alcoholic wants to quit but can't. Not on his own anyway.

They quit with help. A family intervention is one way to get that help.

Two questions come up: First… Is it Grinchlike to confront the issue during the holiday? (And it's the alcohol, not the person, that's the issue.) Second… can't it wait til the New Year?

First, it's not cruel. On the contrary. It may be the best gift you ever give the person with the disease and the family around him or her. Inside every person sick with this disease is a trembling, sorry, sad person dying to feel well again. Invite him or her out onto the path to recovery. Professional interventionists are especially well-trained to do this with compassion and understanding.

Second, There's no better time than the present is the antiquated saying. In the case of the disease of alcoholism, there's no worse time than waiting for tomorrow, or the New Year. You wouldn't imagine postponing treatment for a chronic, fatal, progressive disease like cancer. Why postpone it for a chronic, fatal, progressive disease like alcoholism? If the worry is that it wouldn't be the holiday without that person near, what have the past few holidays told you about that… and what if there isn't a next holiday?

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of CBS Sports' Power Up Your Health featuring Scott Stevens.  Host Ed Forteau led a discussion on risky myths of about "healthy" drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud and the first for Adding Fire to the Fuel also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus the NEW book, Adding Fire to the Fuel, is now available. Download the FREE Alcohology app in the Google PlayStore today

Holiday "celebration or moderation" recovery program on Get It Together Girl radio

Host Karyn Beach featured Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud for a Christmas recovery program. The replay is available.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go." 

The Sobriety :60 #18 - The deception of holiday cheer

Holiday blues aren't a reason to self-medicate, they're a reason NOT to.  The new episode of The Sobriety :60 examines alcohol as a mood amplifier.  Watch it on youtube or read the transcript.

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Dr. Alan Simberg's show, Life Changing Insights, featuring Scott Stevens.  Dr. Simberg led a discussion on the health risks and myths of health benefits of drinking.  Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Impaired Driving Awareness Month: 53 feet to safety

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a sponsor of the National Impaired Driving Awareness Month campaign, along with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. New Year's Day is the deadliest on the roads: The second-deadliest is Thanksgiving Day. In between, the daily average is 45 impaired driving related deaths. The rest of the year daily average? Twenty eight per day.

In the United States the NHTSA tallied 10,322 people killed in alcohol-related collisions, representing a third of 2012 traffic deaths. One out of every 10 arrests for all crimes in the U.S. were for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Operating While Impaired (OWI), accounting for 1 out of every 80 licensed drivers. The death toll is higher than the previous year, despite tougher penalties, safer cars and more enforcement.
Four more facts:

• In 2012, 29.1 million people admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol - that’s more than the population of Texas – according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
• Intoxicated driving involvement in fatal crashes was 4.5 times higher at night than during the day (36 versus 8 percent) – according to the NHTSA.
• Nine of 10 drinking and driving incidents happen after drinking with family, friends or co-workers – common during the holidays. “There is almost always somebody around who could be part of the solution,” says DrinkingAndDriving.org.
• Highway alcohol-related deaths are 100 percent preventable. Passive alcohol detectors can measure a driver's BAC before starting the vehicle and render it unable to start. If the driver is intoxicated, he isn't driving. Critics claim the technology has not been perfected. However, the technology already exists for the non-invasive technique (see related examiner article), although the public appetite for the device does not. The idea was suggested four years ago in the book What the Early Worm Gets as the way to conclusively eliminate all drinking and driving accidents.

“Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable,” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah Hersman said. “They can and should be prevented. The tools exist. What is needed is the will.”

Drunk or buzzed driving is the act of operating or driving a motor vehicle while motor skills are impaired under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the United States, the point of impairment is pegged at .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). However, studies have demonstrated that motor-skill impairment begins at much lower BACs. Reaction time is 1/5 of a second for an unimpaired driver. With alcohol in the system, reaction time is slowed to 4/5 of a second at .06 BAC. At 60 mph, a second means 88 feet. A fifth of a second is 17.5 feet, 4/5 of a second is 70.4 feet. The family minivan slamming on the brakes in front of an impaired driver is 53 feet closer, reaction-time wise, compared to an unimpaired driver.

Lab research indicates at 0.02 to 0.05 BAC, the ability to see or locate moving lights correctly is reduced as is reaction time and the ability to judge distance. A 2014 study demonstrated crash risk increases 42 percent after just a single drink. (See Crash risk jumps at 0.01 BAC) Even if not obviously impaired, at 0.05 BAC drivers are twice as likely to have a crash as before they started drinking...At 0.08 BAC drivers are five times more likely to have a crash than before they started drinking. Over .08, the crash likelihood jumps to 10 times that of a sober driver.

Enveloped in the push to legalize marijuana today is the illusion that driving “high” is somehow safer. It's still illegal to drive under the influence of any drug, not just alcohol, even in states where marijuana isn't illegal to possess or consume. Smoking or ingesting weed impairs judgment and motor coordination and slows reaction time, and a stoned person has an increased chance of being involved in and being responsible for an accident. Research from the NHTSA indicates that when drivers are killed in motor vehicle crashes, drugs other than alcohol are involved about 18 percent of the time. That means that one in six drivers killed in traffic mishaps are under the influence of drugs other than alcohol.

Another 2010 study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that of all drivers involved in auto crashes, 6.8 percent tested positive for THC, the active ingredient in marijuana. The same survey found that 21 percent of those drivers also were above the legal BAC level.

--See full article

www.alcohologist.com

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Thanksgiving and New Year's Day are the two deadliest days on the road

Throughout the entire year, an average of 28 people are killed each day by intoxicated motorists: During the holidays, the average jumps to 45 per day. Thanksgiving presents a recipe ready-made for family tragedy as more people are on the road, and more of them are impaired.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is a sponsor of the National Impaired Driving Awareness Month campaign, along with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and the Governors’ Highway Safety Association. In the United States the NHTSA tallied 10,873 people killed in alcohol-related collisions, representing a third of 2017 traffic deaths. One out of every 10 arrests for all crimes in the U.S. were for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) or Operating While Impaired (OWI), accounting for 1 out of every 80 licensed drivers. The death toll is higher than the previous year, despite tougher penalties, safer cars and more enforcement.

Four more facts:

• In 2017, 29.1 million people admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol - that’s more than the population of Texas – according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
• Intoxicated driving involvement in fatal crashes was 4.5 times higher at night than during the day (36 versus 8 percent) – according to the NHTSA.
• Nine of 10 drinking and driving incidents happen after drinking with family, friends or co-workers – common during the holidays. “There is almost always somebody around who could be part of the solution,” says DrinkingAndDriving.org.
• Highway alcohol-related deaths are 100 percent preventable. Passive alcohol detectors can measure a driver's BAC before starting the vehicle and render it unable to start. If the driver is intoxicated, he isn't driving. Critics claim the technology has not been perfected. However, the technology already exists for the non-invasive technique, although the public appetite for the device does not. The idea was suggested four years ago in the book What the Early Worm Gets as the way to conclusively eliminate all drinking and driving accidents.

“Our goal is to get to zero deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable,” National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chairman Deborah Hersman said. “They can and should be prevented. The tools exist. What is needed is the will.”

Drunk or buzzed driving is the act of operating or driving a motor vehicle while motor skills are impaired under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In the United States, the point of impairment is pegged at .08 Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC). However, studies have demonstrated that motor-skill impairment begins at much lower BACs. Reaction time is 1/5 of a second for an unimpaired driver. With alcohol in the system, reaction time is slowed to 4/5 of a second at .06 BAC. At 60 mph, a second means 88 feet. A fifth of a second is 17.5 feet, 4/5 of a second is 70.4 feet. The family minivan slamming on the brakes in front of an impaired driver is 53 feet closer, reaction-time wise, compared to an unimpaired driver.

Lab research indicates at 0.02 to 0.05 BAC, the ability to see or locate moving lights correctly is reduced as is reaction time and the ability to judge distance. A 2014 study demonstrated crash risk increases 42 percent after just a single drink. (See Crash risk jumps at 0.01 BAC) Even if not obviously impaired, at 0.05 BAC drivers are twice as likely to have a crash as before they started drinking...At 0.08 BAC drivers are five times more likely to have a crash than before they started drinking. Over .08, the crash likelihood jumps to 10 times that of a sober driver.

www.alcohologist.com

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

The Sobriety :60 - Depression & Suicide

Alcohol causes depression rather than alleviating it... plus the tragic intersections of alcohol, depression and taking one's own life. The transcript of episode #15 of The Sobriety :60 is at http://www.examiner.com/article/the-sobriety-60-spotlights-alcohol-depression-and-suicide and the video is on YouTube http://youtu.be/1NLTnlt20Ow

Visit alcohologist.com for a replay of the Bringing Inspiration To Earth show feature with Scott Stevens. Lucy Pireel's "All That's Written" included a feature on Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud called "When alcohol doesn't work for you anymore."  Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud also can be found on www.alcohologist.com, plus an interview with Scott Stevens on Health Media Now and one at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international author from the UK, among his works is the Alzheimer's book "Time to Let Go."  

Welcome to Christmas 2.0

This is the Christmas 2.0 -- the first sober version -- for many people in recovery. Congratulations on the gift you've given yourself and loved ones and please pass on a little courage to those who are still working on the old version.

 

AAA poll: 96 percent against drinking and driving but 20 percent do it anyway

A not-so-surprising disconnect exists between the public attitude toward driving while impaired and the personal responsibility to do something about it.  "No way should THEY drive like that, it's dangerous.  But me?  I'm fine."


“Do as I say, not as I do,” is the prevailing mindset among motorists when it comes to intoxicated driving. The annual American Automobile Association (AAA) survey, The 2013 Traffic Safety Culture Index, was released online Dec. 17. In it, one in five U.S. motorists who drink say they’ve driven at least once in the past year when they thought their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) might have been close to or above the .08 legal limit.

About 19.5 percent said they took the wheel impaired, according to a statement from AAA’s Foundation for Traffic Safety. The percentage is up over the prior two surveys, and contradicts another AAA finding that 96 percent of drivers believe it’s somewhat or completely unacceptable for people to drive when they think they might have had too much to drink.

Intoxicated driving – or drunk driving – killed 10,322 in 2012 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The NHTSA figures also represent a year-over-year increase. (See related Impaired Driving Awareness Month alcohologist.com post)

The AAA survey also showed that two thirds of respondents are in favor of requiring new cars to have built-in devices that would test drivers to make sure they are sober before the ignition starts. Similar technology is in use today to monitor those with intoxicated driving arrests and people abstaining due to the disease of alcoholism. About 63 percent approve of lowering the legal BAC limit to .05 from .08. Both measures were among 20 recommendations in a May 2013 report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) on how to reduce or eliminate drinking and driving deaths.

AAA advises drinkers to stay overnight, designate a sober driver or use public transportation or a taxi rather than get behind the wheel impaired. One out of 10 arrests for all crimes in the U.S. were for Operating While Impaired (OWI), accounting for one out of every 80 licensed drivers. The AAA also revealed its estimate for 2013 year-end holiday travel is 94.5 million travelers, an increase for the fifth consecutive year. The holiday travel season is when alcohol-related travel deaths peak at an average of 48 per day. The average for the entire year is 25 per day.

-- from examiner.com, see full article

www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK. 

Five considerations about alcohol and the holidays

For those in recovery, sober is the only way to do the holidays.  For non-alcoholics, here's some food for thought...

Nearly half of annual domestic sales of wine and roughly 40 percent of higher-priced spirits are sold in the final three months of the year as consumers tend to drink more and buy alcoholic beverages as gifts or to bring to holiday parties and other special occasions. Then there are the office parties and gatherings of family and friends.

For many, abstinence is a year-round plan, and for those who may be concerned about their drinking, here are five fast facts about the season of drinking that demonstrate the value or moderation or abstinence.

Parents, not peers, set drinking examples. Much of parental alcohol abuse or the disease of alcoholism is only occasionally visible to the world outside the family. However, children get their attitudes toward alcohol by observing how the adults around them behave while drinking. Christmas can be stressful. Getting home, complaining to our partner and having a drink seems normal. But stop and think what that might be teaching your children – that alcohol is a coping mechanism.

Drink responsibly – you don’t have to finish the bottle just because it’s open, or even drain your glass. Know your limit. Once you’ve reached it, set the example. Also, when planning a family celebration where teens might be present, try to reach an agreement on rules for them beforehand. Don’t feel pressured to let your teen drink if you’ve already decided they shouldn’t drink before a certain age. And don’t feel hypocritical for drinking when you’ve told your kids they can’t. Explain that alcohol is for adults because their bodies have finished growing, and even then, there are laws about drinking and driving. (See nine more alcohol tips for holiday parenting.)

Alcohol adds calories. Many Americans worry about the extra calories from that green Jello stuff or slab of pumpkin pie. Put down the extra glass of wine and save yourself about 200 calories. If you drink a glass of wine before dinner, another glass with dinner and a sweet wine for dessert, that’s more than 400 calories in addition to the meal. If three beers help that dry turkey seem more palatable, that will add an extra 450 calories. (See more in this related examiner.com article.)

Company parties are back. A recent survey by executive search firm Battalia Wilson found that 91 percent of the companies polled will have holiday parties this year, a significant increase from last year’s low of just 74 percent. If you’re a business owner hosting a party, you have liability. For a former drinker struggling with sobriety, there is no shame in skipping a bash. Otherwise, if you’re an attendee, ginger ale looks just like a cocktail and may keep you from legal trouble on the roads, because…

More people get in collisions during the holidays. Twenty-five people die on an average day in alcohol-related crashes. Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s, the average spikes to 45 alcohol-involved traffic deaths daily. December is Drunk and Buzzed Driving Month to emphasize the dangers of drinking and driving during the travel- and celebration-intensive season. Motor vehicle violations involving alcohol increase an average of 54 percent after Thanksgiving. Twelve hundred Americans will die on the roads this month from intoxicated driving crashes. The numbers are higher in years when Christmas and New Year's land on a weekend, which they won’t this year.

Alcohol-related violent crime increases in December. The Department of Justice reports alcohol-related violent crime is highest in December compared to the rest of the year except July – which is a statistical tie. One-third of state prisoners and one-fifth of federal prisoners report alcohol use at the time of the offense. Twenty-one percent of federal prisoners serving time for a violent offense reported alcohol use at the time of the offense. An earlier study in 2008 by Pew Research revealed that 25 percent of state prisoners given a standard questionnaire to screen for the disease of alcoholism tested positive.
--from examiner.com (see full article)
www.alcohologist.com

Details on the third literary award for Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud, plus the new radio interview replay is available at alcohologist.com... and please read the new interview with Scott Stevens at Christoph Fisher Books.  Mr. Fisher is an acclaimed international historical fiction novelist from the UK.