Alcohol treatment
- I had occasion recently to attend a seminar in my home town. When I
was in my early 20’s I moved from the east coast to the west, partly to
find a job, but mostly to find myself. I left behind my family and many
good friends. Upon my return, although I was put up in a very posh
hotel, I chose to stay with my parents, though there were many
conferences and events being held at the hotel that I would need to be
at throughout the week.
Alcohol treatment - One evening after a particularly busy day, I and a
few of my colleagues decided to go for a drink in the hotel lounge. A
little while in to our evening, as I headed to the washroom I was
greeted by a familiar face. One of my very best friends from high school
was smiling at me from atop a barstool, although the smile was a little
crooked.
I stopped to say hello and within seconds realized she had had quite a
bit to drink already. She too was with some people so we agreed to meet
up the following evening to catch up.
Lea and I partied a lot when we were younger. We grew up in the days
before designer drugs and all night raves and spent many weekends at
house parties or in each other’s basements with some friends. There was
always alcohol around and while we both drank I never thought either of
us had a drinking problem.
When I met up with Lea for dinner by the time I arrived at the
restaurant she already had a half empty drink sitting in front of her
and she looked settled in. We began reminiscing about old times and
filling each other in on what we had been up to since we last spoke.
As the evening went on Lea ordered several more drinks, never going
without a drink for more than ten minutes. By 9:00 she was slurring her
speech and I knew it was time to call it a night. I was beginning to
realize that Lea had a drinking problem. I had my parent’s car so I
convinced her to leave hers and drove her home.
Lea invited me up for coffee and I reluctantly went, mostly because I
wanted to be sure she was alright. Since I was only going to be in town a
few more days I grabbed the bull by the horns and confronted Lea. I
told her that it looked like she was engaging in abusive drinking, that
she may be a problem drinker, and that I was worried for her.
She admitted that she had a drinking problem and broke down right there
on the sofa. I reassured her that even though I would be leaving in a
few days, I would help her address her drinking problem in a positive
way before I left.
I spoke with Lea again in the morning and we agreed that she needed to
enter an alcohol treatment program. Lea’s abusive drinking was taking
over her life and she wanted help. The good news is that Lea realized
she was a problem drinker and honestly wanted to do something meaningful
about it.
It’s been 8 months now and I’ve just gotten off the phone with Lea. She
has been receiving help in the alcohol treatment program and her abusive
drinking is under control for now. She knows it’s one day at a time,
and I hope she is able to stay on the right track.
