Do you find yourself saying things like, "someday I'm going to stop drinking or stop drinking so much?" Do you also imagine what your life would be like if you didn't drink so much? Maybe you would be in better shape or you'd spend more fun time with your children. Perhaps … [Read more...]
Making a Commitment, Getting Support and Staying Accountable
August 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment
You have found the motivation to change your drinking habits, so now it is time to make a concrete commitment. Often when making a commitment, it helps to let other people know about your plan and to help hold you accountable while supporting you in accomplishing … [Read more...]
Achieving and Maintaining Alcohol-Free Days
October 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Skills for Drinking in Moderation You may be wondering - if this is not an abstinence program – then why is it important to have alcohol-free (AF) days? There are many reasons, but part of the philosophy behind moderate drinking or learning to drink socially … [Read more...]
Drinking and Defiance – Disciplining Your Inner Brat
September 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
You’re familiar with “defiance.” It’s that little voice inside that got us into trouble when we were teenagers, or caused us to back-talk to authority figures because nobody was going to tell us what to do. Well, it’s the same voice that shouts out, “WHAT?! You … [Read more...]
Dealing with the Conditioned Response of Drinking Alcohol
September 14, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Why is it that we tend to drink more around certain people or in certain situations? Sometimes it is basically a triggered response where we drink because we are trying to escape from the feelings that we are having, for instance around a certain person because they make us … [Read more...]
Liz Michael Discusses the MODER8 System on BlogTalkRadio – Addiction Treatments that Work
June 22, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Liz Michael, founder of Second Chance Health & Wellness, and developer of the MODER8 program will be a guest on BlogTalkRadio – Addiction Treatments that Work, this Thursday, June 23. The show airs from 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. EDT on … [Read more...]
Drinking Because You Feel Stuck & Hopeless?- Learn to Problem Solve & Distract Instead
May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment
There are times when you feel helpless and hopeless and no amount of supplements or mood altering medication will keep you from wanting to drink in order to cope. The problem is the drinking doesn’t help you feel better either – at least not for long. The “buzz” … [Read more...]
Brain Chemistry and Addiction
February 22, 2011 By 3 Comments
Our emotions, craving, impulses and ultimately our actions are dependent on a finely tuned system of brain chemicals called neurotransmitters. These neurotransmitters are either “positive or negative” and essentially either tell part of our brains to turn on or turn … [Read more...]
Drinking Around Children
January 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The following post is a "re-print" from the old website - but I think it is a very important topic, so I'm posting it again on this site. I hope you find it beneficial - Liz. ____________________________ I've recently been asked by several moms to elaborate on … [Read more...]
Controlling Your Emotions to Control Your Drinking
December 20, 2010 By 1 Comment
If you think about it, most of our binges are triggered by our emotions and how they control us. How many times have you self-medicated because you were scared, angry, or sad? There are complete philosophies and books written on this topic - such as Cognitive Behavior … [Read more...]
Exercise – Another Drinking Control Strategy to Add to Your Plan
November 21, 2010 By Leave a Comment
If you are like I was, alcohol packed on the pounds. And with the pounds comes a negative spiral.... stop working out because it's not working, feel worse about yourself and start doing more self-destructive things. That all-or-nothing thinking pops up it's nasty head … [Read more...]
Alcohol Abuse – Getting Past the Old, Negative Information
October 27, 2010 By 2 Comments
When it comes to alcohol abuse, it amazes me that so much of the media continues to teach the disease model and all-or-nothing message of alcohol abuse. Even WebMD – a contemporary and well trusted health information source published in its article Understanding Alcohol … [Read more...]
Is Feeling Overwhelmed Causing Drinking Problems? A Little Help for Stressed-Out Moms
October 18, 2010 By 1 Comment
Here's some hope and help for moms. We are hearing more and more about alcohol abuse and women. There seems to be a growing trend in the 30 to 40-something year old moms that fall into one of two categories: 1) Alcohol abusers that are dealing with the stress of trying to … [Read more...]
Shame & the Negative Spiral of Out of Control Drinking
October 13, 2010 By 1 Comment
Is shame keeping you stuck in the self-destructive habit of drinking uncontrollably? Or perhaps you’ve done some things that were embarrassing, hurtful or dangerous in the past because of your use of alcohol. You may have even been given the label “alcoholic” and … [Read more...]
Drinking Triggers – Identifying and Developing a Plan
October 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
We all know that alcoholism is a complex, multi-faceted problem. While much of it is biological, a lot more of it is behavioral. That means we have to learn how to stop abusing alcohol. While products like MODER8® help to address the physical issues, only YOU can change … [Read more...]
Stop Binge Drinking – How to Derail the Binge
September 23, 2010 By 5 Comments
How many times have you set out to drink “just one drink” and found yourself hung-over and unaware of what you may have done during your binge the night before? That anxious feeling of hurrying to the refrigerator for a quick inventory - checking to see the number of … [Read more...]
Drinking in Moderation
September 15, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It seems like I’ve battled with my weight for most of my adult life. I remember looking at my “skinny” friends and wondering why they could eat chips and cookies and cake and not gain weight. So I started watching what they did…. They weren’t concerned with how … [Read more...]
Help Stop Drinking: the Pleasure/Pain Pendulum
September 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment
It seems like most behavior and decisions in life are based on the levels of pleasure (or reward) versus pain, and which one is more important to us at the moment. When I was in the middle of a drinking binge, I used to think “why can’t life just be like this all the … [Read more...]
Alcohol Dependence – No Pain, No Gain?
August 14, 2010 By 1 Comment
We are all familiar with the adage, “No Pain, No Gain.” In general it applies to exercise or working out, but it also relates to treatment for alcohol dependence. If you are reading this blog, no doubt you have asked yourself, “Why do I drink?” Of course there … [Read more...]
Change Your Brain, Change Your Drinking
August 1, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The concept is not new. William James, a famous psychologist from the 1800’s said, “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives,” (from The Miracle Method, by … [Read more...]
