How long will counselling take?
The process of changing your habits towards alcohol is not something that happens overnight. You are learning new skills to replace your old behaviours, and this will take some time. How long it takes of course varies from person to person.
Firstly you have to decide how you will know when you have changed? What will be the signs that you have been successful? These are questions that most people find difficult to answer. Ok, so you don’t drink so much any more, you feel a bit more clear-headed and happier - but have you made the changes in your life that you really wanted at the start?
So, to answer the main question another way - you might well see reductions in your level of consumption within a week or two, but that may not mean you have made enough changes to sustain that improvement.
Usually when people decide to seek help for their alcohol problems, it is not just the actual level of their drinking that bothers them, it’s their emotional problems, their ability to cope with the stress in their lives, the number of crises they create. So reducing consumption is only one part of the overall changes someone might be hoping for.
So perhaps the initial question is a little too vague to be answered accurately. Being more specific in your expectations will lead to more informative answers. So maybe ask some questions like these instead:
“How long will it take me to learn other ways to relax?”
“How soon can I expect to communicate better with my family?”
“When will I be able to get through a whole day without even thinking about a drink?”
“Will I feel that I’m a good person again soon?”
July 10th, 2006 at 6:03 pm
These questions are hard to answer. Honestly…I think “yeah, I’m sure I can do that one day.” But then there’s that little devil of doubt on my shoulder saying “Hmmm….”
“When” always seems so hard to decide. But not impossible, really.
The only way I figure I can make a change is never taking my eyes off the pleasure while suffering the pain to attain it.
I think the hardest part is remembering “What am I doing it for?” And knowing, for me, that life could be less heartbreaking without my addiction…is worth it.