Alcohol
Awareness week
19th-25th November
Alcohol consumption is a big issue. Public Health England have said that
at least 10m Brits must cut down on their drinking, with middle aged
drinkers in particular being urged to abstain. For each person whose
consumption goes on to become a serious problem to their health and
life, it is estimated that at least five others are directly affected.
But help is at hand for families and friends of problem drinkers from Al-Anon, which has regular
meetings in many locations in the local area. It can be isolating, living with someone who is
struggling with a drink or - increasingly these days - drug problem.
They may find themselves making excuses on their loved one’s behalf for missed days at work;
they’re always the one to drive home after an evening out because he/she isn’t fit to get behind the
wheel, even after swearing blind not to drink that night. They could be constantly living like a single
parent at weekends whilst their other half recovers from yet another heavy drinking bout. And,
through all this, the drinker denies that they have a problem, which is a common trait in people
struggling with addiction.
I was desperately seeking something or someone to help quiet the incessant noise in my
head when I walked into my first Al-Anon meeting. I was like a washing machine stuck on the
spin cycle, obsessing constantly about my husband’s heavy and destructive drinking habit,
wondering what I was going to do about it, as if it were my job to fix him. With a strong sense
of shame and no-one to confide in, I felt I was quietly going insane.
In Al-Anon I quickly learned
• I did not Cause the drinking
• I cannot Control it
• I can’t Cure it
The ‘Three C’s’ were a huge comfort to me as I let go of my false notion of responsibility for an
unmanageable situation.
Soon the black cloud of depression started to lift. For me, nothing has helped as much as sitting
in a room with a group of people who really understand what I’m going through as their, often
painful, situations are so very similar to mine. I learn from them and, as everyone’s anonymity
is respected, I can talk freely.
Name and address withheld
Help, hope and support are available at Al-Anon meetings
which take place weekly on Mondays in Slough, Tuesdays
in Beaconsfield and Thursdays in Gerrards Cross. Full details
are available at www.al-anonuk.org.uk or via the helpline
on 0207 403 0888
20 |
hiyabucks.com