Finding it hard to manage your drinking? You’re not alone. Understanding the feelings that drive your alcohol use is a crucial first step toward lasting change.
Here’s how you can begin:
- Identify the emotions behind your drinking.
- Seek professional support. Stopping on your own can be tough, and a qualified clinician can guide you safely.
- Be honest with yourself about the impact drinking has on your life.
Alcohol use can affect your daily functioning and mood. While some drink socially, others may develop patterns of binge drinking that increase health risks. Drinking heavily in a short time raises your blood alcohol concentration, which can lead to feeling unwell and engaging in risky behaviours. Feeling sick is a common consequence after binge drinking.
Signs of dependence include:
- Needing more alcohol to feel the same effect.
- Difficulty cutting down or stopping.
- Strong cravings or urges to drink.
- Struggling to meet responsibilities at work or home.
- Continuing to drink despite relationship problems.
- Losing interest in activities you once enjoyed.
- Experiencing withdrawal symptoms.
Chronic alcohol misuse can cause serious health issues, including liver damage, cancer, and mental health challenges. The developing brain of young people is especially vulnerable. Understanding your reasons for drinking can help break the cycle.
Alcohol is a harmful drug that increases risks of cancer, cirrhosis, dementia, and dependence (NHMRC 2010). Many people use alcohol to cope with difficult emotions like anxiety, loneliness, or low self-esteem. Sometimes, alcohol is used alongside other drugs as a way to manage stress and social situations, and drug use can be part of broader substance use patterns.
Addiction often stems from early life trauma or challenges, making it harder to cope with adult responsibilities. Drinking may seem like a quick fix, but it often deepens emotional and social difficulties.
Ready for personalised alcohol therapy?
Professional support is vital. Therapists provide guidance, collaboratively, on managing withdrawal and developing healthier habits.
Additional help is available through helplines and treatment locators tailored to your needs. Other resources, such as online tools and regional support services, are also available.
Reducing alcohol intake improves long-term health and wellbeing. Drinking less alcohol can help you regain control, avoid hangovers, and improve your quality of life. You deserve to live free from the harms of excessive drinking.
Understanding the Health Risks
Binge drinking is more than just heavy drinking—it poses serious health dangers. Consuming five or more drinks for men, or four or more drinks for women, in one session can quickly raise blood alcohol levels to harmful amounts. This can mean drinking about five bottles or cans of beer, five glasses of wine, or five mixed drinks for men, and four for women, in a short period. This increases the risk of alcohol poisoning, accidents, injuries, and risky behaviours. For women, binge drinking at these levels carries specific health risks, including greater vulnerability to liver damage and hormonal effects.
Repeated binge drinking can lead to chronic illnesses like liver disease, cancer, and mental health disorders. It also raises the chance of developing alcohol use disorder. The health effects of binge drinking include impacts on organ health, immune function, and mental cognition.
For additional trusted information, visit the Australian Government Department of Health and the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
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Treatment for alcohol problems
Individuals using high levels of alcohol often require inpatient admission to safely withdraw from the substance. You should always speak to your doctor, psychologist or another mental health clinician to seek advice about how to safely cease alcohol use.
Therapy may include motivational interviewing, which explores and enhances reasons for change, cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), which explores how thought processes impact feelings and actions, including substance use behaviours. Research has also shown that long-term maintenance of sobriety or reduced use is enhanced by psychodynamic psychotherapy.
The trained clinicians at Bayside Psychotherapy will endeavour to help you address the thoughts and feelings you tried to suppress with alcohol.
Call Bayside Psychotherapy on (03) 9557 9113 to find out if we’re able to help you. Your call is completely confidential, and there’s absolutely no obligation.
You can also book an appointment by using our online booking form for online appointments. Or, if you prefer, you can book an in-clinic session.
The methods and options used by our practitioners are flexible. You can also download our self-hypnosis recording for binge drinking you can use on your own which may complement your sessions. Taking the first step and asking for help with your addiction takes real courage.
Don’t let uncontrollable drinking continue to rule your life and put it in jeopardy. Let’s work together to address your excessive drinking.
When it comes to binge drinking help, hypnotherapy, counselling or psychotherapy may help people who binge drink achieve greater self-awareness and inner control. With a willingness to work through issues with their therapist, heavy drinkers can learn to feel better within themselves and less controlled by the urge to drink (or drink excessively).
Supporting Someone You Care About
If a loved one is struggling with binge drinking, your support can make a difference. Approach them with empathy, avoiding judgement. Being a supportive friend is important—friends can play a key role in encouraging positive change and recovery.
Encourage professional help through counselling or support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, which offer safe, confidential spaces.
Learn about binge drinking and its effects to provide informed support.
Set a positive example with responsible drinking habits.
Remember, binge drinking often signals deeper issues. Addressing mental health and offering ongoing support is essential.
Together, you can help your loved one move toward a healthier life.
If you or someone you care about needs personalised support, book a confidential session with our experienced clinicians today and take the first step toward recovery.
Click here for FAQs and our current fee schedule.
Call Bayside Psychotherapy on (03) 9557 9113 if you have further queries. Your call is completely confidential, and there’s absolutely no obligation.
Taking the first step towards healing is a big decision, and we are here to support you through it. Whether you prefer an in-person session at our comfortable clinic or the convenience of a telehealth appointment from your home, our secure and confidential booking process makes it easy to begin.
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