I’ve got my life back after giving up booze
MOST people enjoy a drink and some will binge at the weekend, but my relationship with alcohol went deeper. I have used it to numb the pain of past hurts and to give me confidence. One drink lets me forget my worries, but after several more come feelings of doom, guilt and shame — and then I need another drink. After 15 months of boozing it up, rarely allowing myself time to recover from the damage it was doing to me physically and emotionally, I have quit. It happened overnight after a nasty fall saw me wake up with a damaged chin. Two months later, I look and feel like a different person and I can’t believe the difference it has made to my life. I have energy all day long and if I say I’ll do something, I do it. My depression has lifted: I no longer wake from a fitful sleep with feelings of dread, unable to remember what I may or may not have said or done the night before. I don’t make stupid, irrational decisions and other people are no longer irritated or shocked by my behaviour. My family has stopped worrying about me and I no longer argue with my partner all the time. I am there for other people — not everything is about me any more — and I am no longer aggressive or angry. I’ve started believing in myself again: I’ve got a new job, I’m earning money and I’m excited about life. My skin is soft and smooth and the crow’s feet are disappearing. I have started caring for my appearance and, to my surprise, other people are noticing how well I look. And most importantly, I am here for my children. I listen intently to them, remembering everything they tell me, and every day I try to be the best mum I can be. They deserve it because they have had to live with the demon drink taking me over for too long. Believe me, if I can give up alcohol, then anyone can. Everyone deserves to feel this good.
BERNIE STEWART, Gloucester.