This topic could almost be a rewriting of the whole of Alcohol Explained, things like reduced heart rate which leads to higher energy levels, greater mental resilience, far better sleep (and the whole world of increased quality of life that flows from that),...
This particular topic opens up a whole realm of interesting sub topics, not least of which is where we draw the line between the so called ‘normal drinker’ and the ‘problem drinker’. If you are drinking all day every day without being able to stop, then you clearly...
I'm very pleased to say that the first 7 modules of the online course are now available to try for free. You can find this on the 'Online Course' page of the website, link below: https://www.alcoholexplained.com/course/ Please do let me have any feedback, good...
I’m very pleased to say that the Alcohol Explained online course is now up and running. You can find it on this site under the main menu. The idea was to get everything in Alcohol Explained and Alcohol Explained 2 (and even one or two things that aren’t in either...
Alcohol is a sedative. It is a chemical depressant. By that I mean it decreases or inhibits nerve activity. Some people struggle with this concept because their personal experience of drinking is that a drink energises them (over here in the UK one of the many terms...
The lockdown has had quite a profound effect on many people’s drinking. Some people have found that their drinking has increased (often dramatically) and others have found that the lockdown was their key to stopping. People in this second group may have stopped for...
This topic has come up a few times recently and I thought it was worth doing a post just to clarify the situation. As a starting point, using absolutes in terms of addiction is always fraught with difficulties. Addiction is a complicated mix of physiological, chemical...
It's not just Alcohol Explained, in fact it's not just alcohol. Whether you are trying to quit drinking, or smoking, or anything else, often a method that worked very well the first time just doesn't seem so effective the second time around. Why is this? Actually...
There are a lot of people relapsing at the moment. Anxiety levels are high and our usual routines are out the window (along with the usual rules on drinking). Many so called moderate drinkers are now drinking every day when they didn't before, they are drinking...
This is something I posted to the Alcohol Explained Facebook Group. I thought I may as well share it on my blog. Hi everyone, sorry I’ve not been very visible recently. I’m currently working from home (which has its own challenges) but also trying to look after and...
I'm taking part in a Zoom chat later today (5pm UK time) run by Sober Experiment. If anyone is interested in joining here is the link: https://zoom.us/j/585744492 Look forward to virtually seeing you all!
I, like many people, are now working from home. It's not something I've done for a few years. The place I used too work at did it on an ad hoc basis, but since being at my new place (which I've been at nearly three years now) I've not done it at all. Last week was my...
I find myself working from home at the moment, which is a challenge, albeit mainly because I am getting used to a slightly different way of working. Years ago this would have been an excuse to drink even more and a lot of people seem to be using the Coronavirus as an...
Apologies for the lack of recent blog posts. For those of you who are familiar with my posts you'll know that, for me, they are predominantly a way to explore new ideas and theories. The reason for there not being any posts for so long is that, having written Alcohol...
I'm pleased to say that Alcohol Explained 2 is now available on Amazon. It is currently free on Kindle until Thursday 12th December. Links below. For regular readers of my blog post you may recognise much of what is in there from my blog posts, but I have developed...
Firstly apologies for being so quiet recently, I have been working on Alcohol Explained 2 which is now substantially complete. The current intention is that when it is released it will be free on Kindle for 5 days so watch out for updates in respect of this. Just to...
Dopamine, Serotonin and Endorphins are all chemicals that occur naturally in the human brain. They are all linked to addiction and I thought it was worth clarifying exactly the role that these chemicals play because, as is usual with alcohol and addiction, there is a...
There was a post recently in the Alcohol Explained Facebook Group with some fairly pronounced religious overtones. The recovery community is an amazing thing in many ways. It’s hard to imagine where else you could find such a large group of people whose main interest...
This post is something a little different. When a few people had contacted me to say thank you for writing Alcohol Explained I added the 'Personal Stories' page to the website sand started asking people who emailed me if I could add their stories there. Vicky is...
Moderation seems to be an issue that is constantly coming up, and I get asked regularly what I think about it. I was also asked recently to do a post on why some people end up with drinking problems, where others don't. In fact the topics are interrelated because a...
I'm very pleased to say that Nicotine Explained is now available for purchase (the paperback version is available now, the kindle version is available for pr-order for release this Tuesday 14th May). It provides a similar analysis of nicotine as Alcohol Explained does...
I'm pleased to say that the Polish Language version of Alcohol Explained is now available for sale. As Amazon Kindle doesn't support Polish Language books it is available on Kobo (link below). It is currently available for the special introductory price of £1.99 (or...
Something that some people struggle with is the concept that every drinker, no matter how occasional or light, suffers alcohol withdrawal. They understand the concept that the brain has its own naturally occurring drugs, hormones and chemicals, they understand that...
Today is my 5 year soberversary. I was going to do a post about all the benefits I've seen over the last 5 years, but as I was planning it in my mind one benefit in particular seemed to warrant an entire post in itself; the often controversial topic of quitting...
I'm pleased to say that the French translation of Alcohol Explained is now complete. As with the English version the first 5 Chapters are available on the website, the link to this is below:...
The problems with drugs is that the brain seeks to compensate for whatever effect the drug is having, so when the drug eventually leaves our system the brain is then out of kilter. Imagine your brain as one of those memory foam mattresses. Flat is ok, a lump on it...
This is a talk I gave at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary Alcohol Liaison Unit. You'll have to forgive the rather dreary monologue, it was better live; talking in front of a live audience is far more engaging than than sitting alone at home late in the evening after a...
This is a slightly amended response of mine to a post in the Facebook Alcohol Explained group about cravings. I thought it was worth sharing a bit more widely: Don’t forget what a ‘craving’ is. It is you, fantasising about how nice it would be to have a drink. It is a...
A contact through the Alcohol Explained Facebook Group recently posted an animation of my last blog post. I thought it was incredibly effective so we’ve worked together to create the following which details the physiological effects of drinking. Please let me know if...
With so many articles in the news this week trying to extol the ‘health benefits’ of drinking, I thought it was a good time to summarise the various effects alcohol has on weight. 1. Empty calories The first and easiest one, alcoholic drinks contain a huge...
So how do you redeem yourself for all the terrible things you did while you were drinking? Do you need to seek people out to apologise? Or do good deeds to make up for the bad? Or spend your life dragging around your guilt like Jacob Marley's ghost? Well here's some...
I’ve been thinking a bit recently about how and why alcohol withdrawal is so powerful. As I cover in Alcohol Explained the physical withdrawal from alcohol occurs because the brain seeks to counter the depressive effects of the alcohol by releasing its own supply of...
Two of the aspects of drinking that I have been mulling over recently is when people post pictures of themselves drinking (or even just their drinks) on social media. I’ve also been thinking about our drinking icons, our heroes and heroines (both real and fictional)...
One of the problems we encounter when stopping drinking for good is reconciling ourselves with the decision to never ever take a drink again. When we start drinking it all seems like sweetness and light. We have fun evenings out, hangovers are manageable and even the...
The latest book is free on Kindle for the next few days if anyone is interested. Links as per my previous blog post.
The new book is now available (links below). It is entitled 'Diet and Fitness Explained', but the fitness element is fairly short (some three chapters). It just gives a very high level overview of fitness aimed at the absolute beginner. So for those with an...
I was thinking recently about those first few drinks that you have after you have stopped for a while. Those times when you simply ‘give up giving up’. These are always, generally speaking, the worst drinks we will ever have. There are three specific reasons for this...
The Alcohol Explained Facebook group is now created. If you search Alcohol Explained on Facebook you should be able to find it. If you want to join it just do a membership request which I will approve. Any problems drop me a line through the Contact page of the...
Firstly apologies for being out of contact for so long. I've been working on a new book about diet and fitness (with the not very imaginative provisional title of 'Diet and Fitness Explained'). It's been enjoyable and interesting to write but fitting it around a full...
Self-image is a mental picture we have of ourselves. Is it very resistant to change and determines how we act and react, and how we deal with difficult and challenging situations. It is made up in part of a long lasting and stable set of memories. There are various...
Karyn recently asked about my doing a blog post amplifying the concept of the 'stimulant vs depressant' side of alcohol consumption, and its impact on moderation. This coincided with someone sending me an email asking about moderation. Hence this post. I am not going...
I am pleased to announce that the audio version of Alcohol Explained is now available on Audible. You can find it here. It should be available on Amazon and ITunes within the next couple of days. Don't worry about the high price (it is dictated by the retailer...
As father of two young children I am reminded, almost nightly, of the concept of being afraid of the dark. Of course it's not dark that children, or anyone else for that matter, is afraid of, it is what may be lurking within it. This is why it affects children more...
Firstly apologies for being fairly inactive recently. I started a new job a month ago and what little free time I did have almost entirely evaporated, and what I have had I have spent rewriting and updating Alcohol Explained. I am pleased to announce this this task is...
I recently read This Naked Mind by Annie Grace. There are many points in there that work very well with Alcohol Explained and some in particular that I think are worth specifically mentioning. Firstly is the question of why it is difficult to limit our intake during...
