A 2 minute assessment to get a personalized mental health or alcohol recovery plan.
Busy parents that want to drink less can get the support they need with naltrexone - an effective medication that’s easy, affordable and discreet.
What You’ll Learn:
• What prompts parents to drink more than they may have before having a child.
• Why alcohol isn’t a good solution for coping with parenting stress.
• What makes naltrexone an effective solution for parents that want to decrease their drinking.
• How to test your drinking behaviors to get tips on drinking less with or without naltrexone.
I get it. As a single parent of 7-year old twins with a full-time job, some days the relentless stress makes me feel like Sisyphus pushing a boulder uphill only to start all over again at the bottom the next day.
Parental burnout is all too real. It’s a combination of mental, physical and emotional exhaustion that’s 24/7. I fault no one for wanting to find relief from it all.
But finding relief at the bottom of an empty beer or wine bottle ultimately just makes the stress worse for many reasons.
Alcohol can relieve stress in the moment, but it can create much more stress in the long-term. Once the alcohol is out of your system it will actually increase anxiety and stress levels.
That perpetuates the need to drink more to relieve stress, and it can quickly lead to an unhealthy feedback loop. Not to fearmonger, but that’s how alcohol addiction can start.
And if you find that you’re drinking too much, the options for fixing the issue can seem limited when you’re a parent.
Taking a month off to go to rehab - that’s a pipedream for a parent that can’t even arrange a few hours off a week to go to AA meetings.
Not to mention the cost of formal alcohol treatment programs when your entire paycheck goes to paying bills and child-related expenses.
And let’s not forget the stigma and judgement at school functions when other parents think you have a drinking problem.
Some of the people who need help the most and have the most to lose from drinking too much, even if it’s just one binge drinking episode a week, can have the biggest hurdles for reducing alcohol use.
But I’m here to give all you parents reassurance that there is an effective solution. It’s an FDA-approved medication called naltrexone, and all it requires is taking one pill a day.
4 Pivotal Reasons Why Naltrexone is Effective For Parents That Want to Reduce Alcohol Use
The idea that a daily medication can help curb alcohol cravings so you drink less may sound like it’s too good to be true, but it’s for real. Naltrexone works by blocking opioid receptors that release dopamine when alcohol enters your system.
The result - you don’t feel the buzz of alcohol.
Many people report that they have one or two drinks at social gatherings or with dinner after work and have no urge to keep drinking. Others find there are fewer days when they drink at all. And it’s perfectly safe to drink while taking naltrexone.
It won’t make you feel sick or compromise how the medication works.
As for why it’s an option parents should consider, I’m going to keep each point brief and to the point because I know as a busy parent you’re probably reading this during your 30-minute lunch break, while waiting in line at the DMV or at night once the kids are finally asleep.
But make no mistake about it. These four points are game changing for any parent that wants to drink less.
Naltrexone is Effective at Reducing Alcohol Use
Let’s start with the most important point - naltrexone works. It’s been FDA-approved for decades as a way to reduce alcohol use because it’s been proven effective. The clinical stats say it all:
• 50-90% reduction in alcohol cravings
• Reduces heavy drinking days up to 25%
• 78% effective at treating alcohol use disorder (AUD) through the Sinclair Method
With naltrexone you’ll feel the effects from the first use, but it actually can become more effective the longer you use it since it helps rewire the brain’s reward system over time.
It’s the Most Discreet Alcohol Treatment
If you’re like most parents, you probably don’t want to announce to the world that you need a little support to drink less to stress less.
While not drinking and getting help with problematic drinking is much more socially acceptable these days, it’s still not the topic of choice at school functions and sports games.
Many people regardless of their parental status appreciate that taking naltrexone is discreet. You can get a naltrexone prescription online and have it shipped to your home.
You don’t have to discuss it with your family physician or have the local pharmacists knowing your business. You also don’t have to take time off work that employers and coworkers might wonder about.
Taking a pill once a day can be done discreetly. No one will ever know unless you want them to know.
Naltrexone is Affordable (And Can Even Save You Money)
When discretionary income is slim it’s easy to justify putting off alcohol treatment programs that would require dipping into the college savings fund.
Compared to other treatments, naltrexone is very affordable, and with providers like Choose Your Horizon you’re getting more than just the medication. But the upfront cost isn’t the only thing to consider.
When you’re budgeting remember that if you drink fewer alcoholic beverages in a month taking naltrexone you’ll save money. So the actual cost is: the prescription - alcohol savings.
The math is pretty simple. It could even be something a fifth grader could work out. Let’s say you drink 10 fewer drinks a month while on naltrexone:
4 drinks x $8 each out socializing \= $32
6 drinks x $5 each at home \= $30
You’ll save $62 a month. So that $85/mo prescription program actually works out to be $23/mo.
But what’s really priceless is being a better role model for you kids. Every drink we take sends a message to our kids that can heavily influence alcohol expectancies. And those alcohol expectancies predict drinking behaviors in adolescence.
Easy to Implement
The truth is something can be highly effective, but if it’s difficult to implement into your life it won’t get utilized. Never is that truer than when you are a parent. Complicated things just aren’t what we need in our hectic lives.
Possibly the greatest advantage of naltrexone is how simple it is to use:
• Take one pill that’s dosed appropriately.
• Set an alarm once on your phone for a daily reminder to take your pill.
• The medication is shipped to you on a schedule that you don’t have to manage.
It really couldn’t be easier to incorporate into a busy schedule. And once you take your daily naltrexone dose you don’t have to think about it because the medication is doing the work for you.
If you aren’t sure whether or not you're drinking too much or you want some guidance on how to reduce alcohol use with or without naltrexone, take this Alcohol Use Assessment.
You’ll get an Audit-C score and advice that’s personalized to your situation. In a few minutes you’ll have a plan that you can use in the months ahead.
