ISSUE 52
WINTER 2011
Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up
Depends on us.
Thomas L Holdcroft
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WHEN S**T HAPPENS I NO LONGER HIDE IN A BOTTLE |
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Life 4 years
on |
Although
I wasn’t sure that acupuncture would work for me at the time,
I was willing to try it, but it may not suit everyone. There are,
however, other different types of help for those who are struggling
and I would encourage you to try any type of help that’s going,
whether it be counselling, acupuncture, hypnosis, relaxation techniques, medication etc………. the help is out there if you need it and are honest with yourself about wanting to give it up. Every day continues to be a challenge, particularly when things go wrong around you. The past three years have given rise to a variety of personal and family problems. My Mom is 88 and has recently had a stroke; my Dad is 93 and suffering from the onset of age related mental problems; my wife shattered a heel bone; the family have had the loss of a baby; divorce;; births; remarriage; unemployment and other family traumas to contend with. In other words-life, (or as someone else eloquently put it , S**t happens)!! We are no different from other families in the great scheme of things and I have pointed out these events, not for sympathy, but to show that s**t happens to us all of the time. The BIG difference is that when anything like this happens, Ino longer head straight into the bottle and try to hide!! That is THE difference. It has made such a huge impact on not only me but all those near and dear to me and enabled me to get back to being a proper family member instead of the embarrassing drunk who no-one could be sure whether or not I was sober at any given point in time!!. I wrote about my faith and that it has in fact deepened to such an extent that I am more and more involved in Church life, have been able to get involved in helping the community and also done a little preaching! I couldn’t have done as much as I have had I continued on my previous self destructive, downward path. A wonderful part of the preaching is the chance to witness to others the benefits of keeping away from using substances as a crutch to life’s problems. In my case alcohol was what I thought of as a support but it proved to be a false and costly friend! My self confidence has come back after many years and my-esteem has certainly improved. As I said above, every day continues to be a challenge but it is worth meeting the challenges head on and I have found that it does get slightly easier (“not a lot” as Paul Daniels would say) and the need for alcohol is no longer the driving force in my life which is what it had become. I feel that I have been given a new life, so much different from the old one and so much better. I hope that these few words can be of encouragement, even if to only one of you, to take and use the help available. With apologies to Del Boy, I would say to you “He who dares…….” and “You know it makes sense!” God bless you all.
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