1 . Be clear headed about what ' s actually happening
2 . Let ' s not steal from Peter
5 anti-tipple tips for your over-wined clients
1 . Be clear headed about what ' s actually happening
Head-in-the-sand avoidance is so dangerous when it comes to health . We need to know exactly what we are dealing with .
Nightly wine drinking has a kind of creep to it . One glass stealthily morphs into two , and before long even that no longer seems to cut it . Another follows , and then another . People escape from the day and relax into a kind of " safe oblivion " as Caroline described it . Although she also described it as " killing her ”. As the problem escalates , feelings and problems are suppressed , and the escape route becomes the trap . We can ask our clients to relax and be honest . To tell us everything or , if we are seeing them over a few sessions , to keep a record .
We , and our clients , need to know the situation . We need to know it exactly .
As well as keeping a record of their drinking , ask your clients to keep a record of their spending . Add up how much money they ' ve been spending on wine per week , per month , and , by logical extension , per year . They need to know the beast , inside and out .
Caroline began to keep an honest ( but secret ) journal of exactly how much she was drinking . This had two effects .
• The mindfulness needed to keep track naturally lessened her consumption .
• She also saw for the first time just how much money and life she was handing over to the drink every week .
She started to not just intellectually know , but to feel where all this would end up if she sat back and let it . But there ' s another common issue for wine drinkers .
2 . Let ' s not steal from Peter
Many over-drinking clients think in terms of banking : " If I ' save up ' by not drinking too much wine during the week , then I ' ll be ' in credit ' and be able to drink loads at the weekend ."