Claudia Christian and Her Work with the Sinclair Method

American actress Claudia Christian has had a stellar career, featuring in acclaimed television shows like 9-1-1 and Babylon 5. However, beneath all the gold and glitter, she has had to deal with alcoholism for a significant chunk of her life. It took the actress a long time to take control of her alcoholism, and she did it through the Sinclair Method.

If you or anyone you know among your family, friends, and acquaintances has struggled with alcoholism, read on. In this post, we will tell you what the Sinclair Method is and how Claudia Christian made the most of it to come out of her battle with alcoholism as the winner.

The Sinclair Method: What is it?

Before the Sinclair Method came to the fore, there was only one medical treatment for alcoholism – quitting alcohol cold turkey and abstaining from alcohol consumption. However, this proved to be a tough task for many individuals who had developed alcohol addictions.

While cases of short-term addiction could still see some benefits of the cold turkey and abstain method, the same can’t be said for long-term addiction cases. In fact, quitting alcohol cold turkey can be fatal in long-term addicts as it can induce a condition known as Delirium Tremens (DT).

The Sinclair Method, developed in Finland, is all about fighting alcoholism and defeating it, but without quitting alcohol altogether. It involves the use of a drug known as naltrexone, which is well-known as an alcohol use disorder (AUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment. According to the method, people addicted to alcohol should drink after consuming naltrexone. When performed correctly, the method can allow naltrexone to work at its very best and keep the brain from craving alcohol after a drink or two.

Here’s the scientific step-by-step way it all works:

• When you drink, endorphins are released by your brain – endorphins are hormones that reduce stress, relieve pain, and improve mood.

• Over time, when endorphins are released repeatedly due to alcohol consumption, the brain starts to crave more of the hormones. Even though the logical part of it knows that alcohol consumption is harmful to health, it is not enough to stop the cravings.

• This is where naltrexone comes in. The drug temporarily puts a stop to the production of endorphins. In the long run, it can convince the brain that alcohol use won’t result in any pleasure, and the cravings are sure to stop.

Claudia Christian’s work with the Sinclair Method

Claudia Christian knew that her life was being derailed by her addiction to alcohol, which is why the actress, after many attempts to quit, finally turned to the Sinclair Method. During her first three years practicing the method, she successfully navigated all the parties without resorting to binge drinking even once.

However, from the fourth year onward, she began to overdrink occasionally. It was in the seventh year when she relapsed after Dr. John David Sinclair, her mentor, passed away. After his death, the actress’ emotional state led her to binge drink, and she failed to take her medication, which worsened the outcome. She continued to drink heavily in the weeks that followed until she saw sense and began her recovery from alcoholism a second time.

Christian had already experienced first-hand how the Sinclair Method could be helpful, and she started practicing it once again. But this time, she swore to not fall prey to the traps that were waiting for her to slip.

How Christian got the Sinclair Method right

According to Christian, the following things can go a long way toward ensuring that you maintain your control over alcohol and it’s not the other way around:

• Focusing on mental health: In a world that’s excessively focused on physical health and appearance, mental health often gets overlooked. However, Christian started paying attention to her mental health after her slip up following seven years of following the Sinclair Method. She identified her triggers, i.e. the things that triggered the urge in her to drink alcohol. She also learned productive and positive ways of dealing with them.

• Practicing mindfulness: Mindfulness is an ancient practice that allows the mind to let go of negative thoughts and focus on the present. Often, the desire to drink stems from negative thought patterns. However, through the practice of mindfulness, you can learn to let those negative thought patterns drift away as your mind concentrates fully on the present moment.

• Finding caring and supportive people: Recovering from alcoholism can be a time-consuming process. During the recovery phase, you need support in the form of loving and caring people who can understand what you are going through and keep you motivated. All it takes to relapse is one moment of demotivation, but when you have supportive people around you, you lessen the likelihood of that moment coming to pass.

• Never dishonor your compliance: For the Sinclair Method to actually work and help you break free from the shackles of alcoholism, you have to be compliant. For starters, you need to take Naltrexone at the right time. Ideally, you should take it an hour before your drinking session gets underway. Also, you have to stop drinking as soon as you feel naltrexone’s effects taking hold. Continuing to drink is bound to defeat the purpose. Last but not least, don’t use Naltrexone to deal with other symptoms such as sleepiness.

• Be persistent: The best thing about the Sinclair Method is that even if you fail to honor your compliance once, you can start practicing the method again. That’s what sets it apart from cold turkey. Of course, theoretically, cold turkey is possible, and moderate daily drinkers are able to do it without experiencing too much trouble. However, for heavy, long-time drinkers, cold turkey can be a nightmare and is much more likely to lead to a more rapid relapse.

Conclusion

All in all, it’s safe to say that when it comes to treating and recovering from alcoholism, there are very few methods that are as effective as the Sinclair Method. So, if you are looking for a way to cut back on your drinking habit, it’s about time you took a leaf out of Claudia Christian’s book and started practicing the Sinclair Method.