Community Support
Is Drinking
Making Your
Life Worse ?
BY JERRY
Out of respect , Jerry ' s last name will remain anonymous .
Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so , but you only lasted for a couple of days ?
Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking and stop telling you what to do ?
Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk ?
Do you envy people who drink without getting in trouble ?
Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year ?
Has your drinking caused trouble at home ?
Do you ever try to get extra drinks at a party because you did not get enough ?
Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to , even though you keep getting drunk when you don ’ t mean to ?
Have you missed days of work because of drinking ?
Do you have blackouts ( i . e ., not remembering what happened after drinking )?
Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink ?
The above questions are from the “ Is A . A . For You ?” pamphlet published by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services , New York , New York .
The following are some additional questions to ask yourself regarding alcohol :
Do you isolate when you drink ? Do you defend your drinking ? Does your life center around drinking ? Are you ashamed of your drinking ?
Do you try to conceal or minimize how much you drink ?
Do you feel as if you have to drink so as not to get sick ?
Did you answer yes four or more times to these questions ? If so , you are probably in trouble with alcohol . We have a group of law enforcement officers , both currently employed and retired , who meet regularly to discuss our alcohol problems . We do not list the location , time , or day of our meeting . It is by personal invitation only . Our meeting is confidential and anonymous . We will be glad to show you how we stopped drinking ourselves . Just call us : Jerry ( 602 ) 904-1088 ; Dan ( 602 ) 413-4558 ; or Mark ( 623 ) 377-3342
About Jerry Served law enforcement for 35 years . Hired 1 / 15 / 73 . Retired 1 / 31 / 08 . Worked patrol , information desk , Community Relations Bureau , and detectives . Promoted to Sergeant on 7 / 7 / 97 . Worked GIB Desk for 10 months . Then became ROP Sergeant and ran that program his last decade in the Department . Unit was transferred from GIB to HIDTA in 2003 . Was given the DEB Court Liaison Detail to supervise in addition to ROP .
That ’ s pretty much my whole career . I quit drinking in 1983 with 10 years in the Department , before I got into any major trouble . It was just a matter of time before I would have gotten caught committing alcoholrelated crimes that all drunks commit . I was one of the lucky ones . Getting sober turned my life and career around . I broke my anonymity with the Department in 1989 . Chief Garrett ’ s administration had me intervene a lot with alcoholics in the Department . On February 24th , I will have 40 years without a drink . Life is a lot better sober . You don ’ t have to keep looking behind you to see who ’ s chasing you .
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