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<Font size=+5>Alcohol</font><br>
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<font size=+1>If alcohol is causing you a problem, you can obtain confidential help by:-
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<li>Dropping in at the Alcohol Group held at:-</li></ul>
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The National Children's Centre,<br>
Brian Jackson House,<br>
New North Parade,<br>
HUDDERSFIELD<br>
HD1 5JP
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<td>No referral is necessary to attend this Group; <br>you can just come along and introduce yourself in a friendly and understanding atmosphere.
<br><br>The Group is held every <b>Wednesday evening from 7pm-9pm.</b></td>
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<li> Contacting your family doctor.</li><br><br>
<li> Telephoning the Samaritans (01484 533 388)
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<center><font size=+3>Who are we?</font></center>
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<font size=+1>Ordinary people like you.</font><br><br>Alcohol problems are classless, colourless, creedless, sexless and ageless. But we have come out and admitted our problems. It is often easier to talk to understanding strangers than it is to close relatives and friends. We are also able to draw on the 25 years' practical experience which our Founder and President Dr H M Tobarek Hossain has had in caring for problem drinkers in Kirklees.
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<center><font size=+3>We have been there!</font></center>
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People who have alcohol related problems often find it difficult to admit it and to take the necessary action.
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We at the Group and at Kirklees Alcohol Advisory Service know all about it! We were problem drinkers ourselves; we listen, support and offer help based on personal experience. Nothing you can say can shock or even surprise us. Your family and friends are also free to attend, sharing your recovery and understanding the problem.
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You are by no means alone in having a problem. At any one time the local Health Authority, in co-operation with KAAS, will be caring for 350-400 problem drinkers.
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<center><font size=+3>How much is too much?</font></center>
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We know that used sensibly, alcohol can be enjoyable, but it is a drug. It slows down our mind, it slows down the speed with which we react and make decisions - too much is harmful. Not only does it loosen the tongue and relax the muscles, but also too much can make us say or do things which we later regret - we may even pass out!
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What is 'too much'? Any amount which is causing problems for the drinker and his/her family, friends, relatives, partners, carers or employers. For some people, this may be a relatively small amount - for example, three or four pints, and not necessarily on a daily basis.
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Sensible limits for adults are:<ul>
<li>Men - up to 4 units daily
<li>Women - up to 3 units daily
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One unit of alcohol is equivalent to:<ul>
<li>Half a pint of beer
<li>One pub measure of spirits
<li>One glass of wine
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Units should be spread over the week - bingeing is a form of alcohol abuse.
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It takes the liver one hour to break down one unit of alcohol - so it is best never to drink and drive, even the morning after a heavy drinking session - as many people breathalysed on their way to work have found to their cost!
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<center><font size=+3>Do you have a problem?</font></center>
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How do you know if you have a problem with alcohol? Most people are able to drink in moderation - they do not even need to think about controlling their drinking, they do it automatically. For some unknown reason, a small percentage of the population are unable to do this.
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It may take years before such people admit that they have a problem - by which time their mental or physical health may be impaired - sometimes irreversibly so. It is better to seek help before this stage is reached, or before family or friends seek help for the person concerned. The sooner help is sought, the more likely it is that the problem drinker will be able to resume a 'normal' personal and professional life.
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In our experience, problem drinking needs expert medical help - there should therefore be no embarrassment in approaching your family doctor.
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<center><font size=+3>What are the symptoms?</font></center>
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Frequent drunkenness, relationship and marital difficulties, (separation, divorce), accommodation problems, debt, excess alcohol with drug overdoses, unemployment after being dismissed for frequent absence or inefficiency, involvement with the Police for aggressive or violent behaviour, harm to children, being banned from driving.
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If you disguise the amount you drink - doubles instead of singles, stronger drinks, the extra one before you go out and when you come home - if you can't get to sleep without getting up for 'another one' - if you secrete bottles in the house, car, garage etc. If you are depressed, frustrated, worried or upset and immediately turn to alcohol - these, either singly, or in multiples, can be some of the features of an alcohol problem.
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Physical features include: gastritis, peptic ulcers, pancreatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, recurrent infections, heart failure, these are just some of the conditions in which problem drinking can play a part.
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In Kirklees there are around five deaths in a year which may be attributable to alcohol excess.
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<font size=+2>Beware!</font>
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You don't have to get drunk repeatedly to have an alcohol problem. You may be carrying on a 'normal' existence on the surface; working, driving your car, mixing socially. But you could be 'topping up' your alcohol level all the time so that you are never really sober. You may think you are coping, but what are you doing to your health?
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<font size=+2>Maps</font>
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KAAS is a registered charity and a limited company, aiming to relieve the distress and sickness of people suffering from any form of alcohol excess.
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It seeks to advance the education of the public concerning the effects of alcohol and the problems related to alcohol excess.<br></center>
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Kirklees Alcohol Advisory Service is registered in England No. 2808514
<br>Registered charity No. 1025349
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