FROM 400 UNITS A WEEK TO TEA TOTAL
Former alcoholic now helping others
A RECOVERING alcoholic, who went from being a casual drinker to stashing booze on the beach so he could get drunk while walking his dog, has spoken out in a bid to highlight the danger signs.
Chris Rees, 43, was drinking up to 400 units of alcohol a week when a serious health scare put his life in to perspective.
The father of one has now been sober for nearly three years and has enrolled himself on an access course at Coleg Meirion Dwyfor in Pwllheli, with the hope of going on to university to study to become a drugs and alcohol counsellor.
Chris, from Llannor, near Pwllheli, said: “I started out as a social drinker when I was about 17.
“It wasn’t until I took over the Black Lion pub in Pwllheli in 2002 that I went from being a weekend drinker to an every day drinker and it gradually got worse from there.
“I would drink in secret and hide booze – I’d even stash a few cans near the beach and drink them when I went to take the dog for a walk.
“We left the pub three years later when my girlfriend at the time fell pregnant.
“Looking back now, I can see that when we left I was a raging alcoholic – at my worst I was drinking 20 cans a day.
“Shortly after my daughter was born, my partner kicked me out because I was so bad and that’s around the time that my health really deteriorated.”
Over the space of five years, Chris, who weighed just seven stone at one point during his addiction, was admitted to Ysbyty Gwynedd with pancreatitis 15 times.
He says that each time he was released he’d immediately start drinking again.
“One time, I called my dad to pick me up from Bangor,” he said. “In between calling him and him driving to get me, I’d been to the shop to buy some cider and I’d downed two cans.
“It controlled every aspect of my life. I used to count money in alcohol – instead of seeing £5 as a fiver I’d see it as eight cans.”
It wasn’t until Chris was admitted to hospital again in March 2015 that he realised the seriousness of his addiction.
He was told that his pancreas was no longer functioning and he was diagnosed with type one diabetes.
Chris explains that, after that day, he had “18 months of hell” battling his addiction until he discovered an Intuitive Recovery course, which helped him put his demons to bed for good.
He said: “I tried AA groups and it just wasn’t for me.
“They see it as ‘once an alcoholic always an alcoholic’ but I had to draw a line in the sand somewhere, I needed closure.
“I am not an addict anymore, I no longer crave alcohol and I can honestly say I will never touch the stuff again.
“I didn’t want to go through life with negative labels like ‘drunk’ or ‘alcoholic’, there had to come a point where I put all that behind me and started living as just Chris.
“It’s taken me a long time to get where I am but now I’m fitter and healthier than I’ve ever been.
“I know I have a long term illness that will probably kill me.
“My pancreas is already dead so I have a high chance of developing pancreatic cancer, and I have to inject insulin five to six times a day for my diabetes.
“It’s a shame it had to get to the point it did before I realised what I was doing to myself.”
Chris, who runs a Facebook support group for addicts all over the world, now attends a group session at the Felin Fach drop-in centre in Pwll- heli every Tuesday and is encouraging others to come along.
“I’m very passionate about helping others,” he added. “I really would encourage anyone to join us in Felin Fach on Tuesdays between 11am and 1pm. It’s all very informal and we just sit around and have a chat - all we ask is that you haven’t had a drink.
“I want to help change the stigma around addiction and help people feel less embarrassed about it.”