How people beat the demon drink

Millions of people suffer from alcohol problems ranging from heavy drinking to dependency.

It is estimated that just one in 10 have treatment for their drinking. For the heavy drinkers, common treatment may involve a consultation with their GP or brief counselling from an alcohol specialist.

But if the condition is more serious - dependency - a whole range of options are available from counselling to drug therapy.

Rehabilitation

There are two stages to the treatment - becoming alcohol-free and rehabilitation.

Once the individual is off alcohol, the rehabilitation starts. The counselling often takes three months although for some it can last much longer and varies from groups sessions to intensive counselling known as cognitive behavioural therapy.

Drug treatments can also be used to either subdue the craving for drink or to induce a feeling of violent sickness to make people afraid of drinking.

Self-help groups are also popular - the most famous being Alcoholics Anonymous.

The idea is that you get the person to admit the problem and then you can start the recovery.

Talking to people face-to-face whether in groups or on your own is the best way of dealing with it.

But whatever help a person receives, it is the individual themselves that has to beat the problem.

Two thirds of people who have treatment manage to stay off alcohol afterwards, even if they are prone to the odd relapse.

The problem is that there is still a lot of stigma attached to the issue. There is no reason why it should be treated like other problems such as back pain, but it isn't.