One of the most common questions I get asked when people are struggling to quit drinking is:
It can be really demoralising when you end up drinking yet again, after promising yourself repeatedly that you’re done –
and especially when it doesn’t even do much for you anymore except leave you with a banging headache, writhing in a swamp of anxiety and shame.
We welcome stories from people about how they have overcome
struggles with addiction and turned their lives around.
This is Trevor’s story
People become addicts for different reasons.
In my case, throughout childhood and my teenage years, I couldn’t handle the inevitability of circumstances out of my control, and I never wanted to confront the things that truly hurt me.
Therefore, I turned to external factors to suppress pain, stress, and most of all – sadness. Naturally, I welcomed whatever outlet took the pain away with open arms – especially drugs and alcohol. [Read more…]
Alcohol and drug addiction doesn’t discriminate. All around the world, there are people from all walks of life trying to get by while abusing drugs or alcohol. In the US alone, over 40 million people fit the criteria for clinical addiction, yet only 10 percent of them will seek treatment.
If you are starting to think you might have a problem, what is stopping you from reaching out for help?
You think your problem isn’t serious enough.
Maybe you just binge drink on occasional weekends. Or perhaps you just have a few beers or glasses of wine a night. You might be functioning well on the outside, going to work, looking after your children, exercising, etc, but on the inside, you feel unfulfilled. [Read more…]
Alcohol and drug abuse is the source of many problems for those who are engaged in addictive behaviours. One of the earliest casualties from substance abuse will be intimacy. It is very difficult for people to abuse mind-altering substances on a regular basis and maintain healthy relationships. As a person falls deeper and deeper into addiction, it will completely take over their life and there will be little room for anyone else. As people become more disconnected from their true feelings and needs, due to suppression by substances, they become less able to communicate them in their relationships, which in turn become more superficial and less gratifying.
