Parents have never been under so much pressure with work and family stresses meaning turning to drinking alcohol for comfort after work is a common way to cope
Karen, 45, a busy successful working Mum, reduced her alcohol drinking habits after listening to my hypnosis downloads for alcohol reduction. Read about how she became more confident, less stressed generally, drank less and banished sleepless nights. Hypnotherapy is a great way to quickly break long established bad drinking habits which can be quite life-changing for many people. As a hypnotherapist, I love working with alcohol reduction as I have seen how it takes over peoples lives but I also know how easy it is to break the bad habits when you shift the root of the problem on a subconscious level. It is very satisfying work to see people back in control of their lives in a short space of time. I interviewed Karen to see first hand how the recordings had reshaped her relationship with alcohol.
Before listening to the hypnosis for alcohol reduction:
How much alcohol were you drinking and how often?
I wouldn't drink a lot during the week. Maybe a small glass of wine three nights a week. But then we have something we call red wine Friday, with friends from my son’s school. It would happen most Fridays from 6pm ish, we would gather at one of our houses and try new varieties of red wine that we had discovered or enjoy old favourites. Sometimes, I would just share a bottle of wine with a friend, other times we would go all out and I would drink a bottle and perhaps a few liqueurs. Invariably I felt hungover the next day. On Saturday if I was feeling very hungover, I wouldn't drink, otherwise, I would have a small glass of wine at home. Perhaps two glasses of wine on a Sunday or a cocktail and if we went to a friend’s house for lunch on Sunday where I would consume at least another half bottle of wine. If there was a school function, I would drink at least a bottle of champagne or a bottle of wine.
How has your alcohol drinking increased over the years?
I’ve always drunk too much. From when I first started drinking at about the age of 15/16. My mother had a drinking problem, and I guess I took my cue from her. But I barely drank when I was pregnant with my children and my drinking definitely decreased when the kids were small. I was breastfeeding so I couldn’t drink and when they wake up so early, the thought of having a hangover is just too unbearable.
Was there an event in your life which triggered drinking more alcohol?
I started drinking more when my son started school. He goes to a private school where some of the parents think they are incredibly special and I found that a few glasses of wine definitely made them more bearable. We’ve also been through some very tough times financially and this coincided with first my mother-in-law dying of cancer and then my mother being diagnosed with bowel cancer. I definitely started hitting the bottle more regularly. I even took some of her anti-emetics for cancer after one really good alcohol binge! After she died, there was an awful lot of “celebrating her life” with champagne.
Is there pressure to drink more alcohol from friends or family? How?
Definitely. I come from a long and proud line of alcoholics, and I’ve tended to choose friends who are the same. That was one of my biggest anxieties, how people would react if I cut down on my drinking. I’m usually the life and soul of a party, I was worried about what they would say, and also if I would find them all boring, without a few drinks inside me. It was a big concern for me.
Before listening to the hypnosis alcohol recording what was your sleep like, were you waking in the night?
During the week if I kept to my one small glass of red wine, and I drank it after I had eaten something, I wasn’t too bad. But as soon as I went over one glass or drank on an empty stomach, I wouldn’t sleep. The weekends were a nightmare. I often had a terrible night’s sleep after red wine Friday. If we had a long lunch on Sunday, I would barely be able to work on Monday.
Has your alcohol drinking ever caused you embarrassment?
Without a doubt. I get outrageous when I drink. I did backward rolls on my friend’s dining room table after a particularly good Sunday lunch, I’ve danced on the table at events at my son’s school (which is not unusual, there is a group that tends to get out of hand). I’ve told the headmaster he’s got a small penis (I really wouldn’t know having never seen it) I’ve been ridiculously flirty…the list goes on!
How would you sum up how you felt about your alcohol drinking in a sentence?
Drinking doesn’t make me happy.
Where did you drink alcohol?
Being a parent I mostly drank alcohol at school events and at friends’ houses.
Did you need alcohol to give you confidence or help you have a good time?
I like the feeling of abandonment that alcohol gives me. It also helps when you’re hosting your own party or dinner party and you’re feeling anxious.
After listening to the Ailsa Frank alcohol hypnosis recordings:
I had been mulling over trying out hypnosis to stop drinking for a couple of years now. But the crunch for me came, not after the weekend of binge drinking we’d just had, but after a lunch, I went to at a girlfriend’s house on a Tuesday after the kids had gone on holiday. It was a really interesting group of women, people I didn’t know very well and I suppose I felt a slight need to impress. I drank alcohol far too quickly and immediately started getting that feeling of being out of control. I don’t actually like the initial feeling and I usually drink more alcohol to get to that real feeling of I-don’t-care-about-anything. I knew I had work to do, so I didn’t go too berserk. I probably had two to three glasses of wine and then an espresso to wake me up. But that evening I hit such a downer, I didn’t know what to do. I felt just so depressed, and not because I had said anything embarrassing or done anything wrong, I just realised that too much alcohol or drinking when I’m stressed or unhappy is basically a recipe for more unhappiness.
That was the 13th August. I think I got the hypnosis binge drinking downloads the next day. The alcohol hypnosis downloads initially just made me want to sleep. At first, I listened to the long one, and I did it every day. I didn’t have a problem not drinking during the week but I was anxious for the weekend because I knew that the family was coming around for my son’s birthday on the Sunday and I was worried that I would drink too much. I got my husband to make me a mojito with one capful of rum and I drank that and a half a glass of wine the whole afternoon and evening. My brother-in-law got very drunk but I was pleased to find that I didn’t find him irritating, just endearing.
Becoming sober
I carried on listening to the hypnotherapy downloads, not always every day, but I was finding that I was sleeping better and despite the fact that I was very stressed about work and the kids were on holiday, I had more patience and less road rage! I also had quite an emotional response to the second hypnosis recording about your inner child. My daughter looks just like me, so every time the recording mentioned my inner child, I just pictured her and I got a real sense of how I was not being a good enough mother to her, not just with my drinking, with everything. I found that that recording reduced me to tears more than once.
The next time I drank was nearly two weeks later
It was a very strong mojito when we went out to dinner as a family. I didn’t enjoy it and I wished that I had ordered the virgin one. We then went to a family wedding, with my husband’s family who also likes a bit of a party, but I had one sherry and a glass of wine the whole night. My biggest hurdle was when my friends got back from Italy and we had our first red wine Friday after the holidays. I listened to the short hypnosis downloads twice that day and for the first time it felt automatic, I didn’t need to remind myself not to down my drink (which is my downfall). The host poured me an enormous glass of red wine (think Cougar Town size!) as I arrived, and I made it last the whole evening. I drank water, I didn’t let anyone top up my wine glass and it felt completely natural. The host got fairly merry, but again, it didn’t worry me. I went home at a reasonable time, I had a good night’s sleep. It was brilliant!
The last hurdle was sports’ day at my daughter’s school where we usually start on the champagne as soon as the bar opens. I usually find myself anxious to have the first glass, mostly because I find the competitiveness of some of the parents at these schools quite hard to take. But I drank coffee and tea, and even when two girls were particularly unkind to my daughter – they invited her to play and then told her she couldn’t come - I didn’t feel the need to drink, I just wanted to take her home.
This is what I have found since I’ve started listening to the alcohol hypnosis downloads and have cut down on my drinking:
- I’ve slept better
- I’m less hormonal
- I’ve been more motivated as far as work goes. (I’m a Film scriptwriter)
- I’ve definitely been more careful with money
- I’ve recognised that I don’t need to spend time with people who make me feel bad about myself – I think I used the drinking as a way of giving me Dutch courage to cope with that type of person
- I’m more focused on my children in a good way. Not in a hovering way. Just in the sense that I want to spend time with them doing fun things. It’s just made me more aware of being a good parent, of being there for them, instead of slumping in front of the TV with a glass of wine or going to a friend’s house and letting them get on with it while we all get pissed!
- I don’t know if I would feel comfortable in every situation but I definitely feel a lot better about not having a drink in my hand.
I have enjoyed these hypnosis downloads so much, I’m going to try the weight loss one!
I am amazed at how I go to social gatherings and I do not even feel like downing a glass of wine like I used to. It just sits there, and I sip it and I’m fine…it really, really works!
"Cut the Crap & Feel Amazing" by Hay House
"Take Control of Alcohol" Hypnosis Recording
"Stop Binge Drinking for Women" Hypnosis Recording
"Stop Binge Drinking for Men" Hypnosis Recording
