Say hello to my first every blog! I’m pretty excited to be writing this. As many of you know I have been in long term recovery myself for about 23 years now. What you wouldn’t know is that I didn’t think I was your ‘traditional’ alcoholic. I believe just about all of us know someone who we think might have a “drinking problem”. You may even know an alcoholic or someone who you would classify as one.
What comes to your mind when think of that word…ALCOHOLIC… the homeless person living on the street in the doorway with a bottle in a brown paper bag? the guy standing at the stop light holding up the sign “will work for food”? The person in the dirty trench coat pushing the shopping cart picking up cans so they can get the next drink? You know… the kind of people you would ‘never’ associate with. Or do you? Maybe you already have? It might be the store owner, the banker, and the guy at your country club, or the plumber, the truck driver, the teacher, or even the leader of the church group, who knows!
Back when I was drinking you probably wouldn’t have been able to tell I was “one of those people”. I went to work every day and did my job. I had a family and owned a home. From the outside you would have never guessed my struggle with drinking or that I was “one of those people”.
A drinking problem will mean something different to everyone; there is no one description of a “problem drinker”. You may have even asked yourself the question. Am I? However there is some agreement in the addiction field of the behaviors or traits of a problem drinker are. Here are few of the more common ones, in no particular order:
You regularly drink more than you intend to.
Have missed work or some function because of your drinking.
Alcohol causes trouble at home.
You drink because you have problems, thinking it helps deal with the stress.
You drink to fall asleep or stay asleep
You have tried to quit but failed. Or you have taken the ’30 day’ quit challenge.
You lie about drinking.
There are many more and a quick Google search will produce countless results. There are also many health related issues that can be directly related to drinking as well but I will save that for a different blog.
If you answered yes to any of these questions maybe it’s time to think about a life style change. After all you wouldn’t want to be “one of those people” would you?
I was able to stop my self-destruction 20 plus years ago after losing many of the things that were important to me. This was at a time when all the different types of support opportunities didn’t really exist or at least I didn’t know about them. Yes AA was around, I attended for a while and it helped some. Having a support network along the way is one of the keys to success. I wish there would have been some of the alternative support methods back then that are available today. The team here at Cardinal Point in the Fox Valley can help. In fact, that’s why we are here. We have nutrition support, counselors and recovery coaches.
We know that having an addiction is not a sign of weakness, a character flaw, or a failure. In fact if you answered yes to the questions and decide you want to make a change, it shows strength, determination and courage.
Give us a call here at Cardinal Point in the Fox Valley and let’s talk about it. 920-QUITNOW
Take back control; you have the power to do so, we are here to help.
Sincerely,
“One of those people” Steve