Addiction Info and Advice

See How Greatly Your Life Can Improve When You're Addiction Free

This is a case of a very young person who nearly ruined her life due to alcohol addiction. When I met her, she already had a problem. It started when she was only 12 years old shortly after her parents split up, and she felt that her entire life was in turmoil. A divorce can really have a mind blowing impact on a child due to all the changes the child is forced to encounter without any say in it. Most children feel guilt, anger, frustration, or depressed that there is nothing that can be done to make things the way they were again. Children feel this way no matter how old they are, and even if they appear to be intellectually capable of handling the situation.

When this child's parents divorced, her world fell apart. When the family unit she grew up in and assumed to be fundamental to her life no longer existed, she found herself in limbo. To fill the void, she turned to her friends in similar situations and jointly they turned to alcohol. At the tender age of 12 she was drunk by mid-afternoon on a daily basis. Being an extremely talented person, she is gifted in art and literature and did extremely well in all her subjects including her sports performance, she would still manage to somehow pass her exams. I met her when she was preparing to enter university. I was told about her problem, but she could carry things off so well, I did not believe it.

I saw the truth for the first time at a Christmas function. She was with her father; there were eight people at our table. None of us being heavy drinkers, we were all enjoying the conversation and slowly sipping our drinks. After a while I finally noticed that one glass was being constantly emptied and re-filled. When I counted to 6 I was shocked to find out that this little girl was the one drinking almost an entire bottle of liquor! I was not sure if her father noticed. He told me that he did after I quietly confronted him, but he was afraid to make a scene by taking it away so he allowed her to hide under the table and sneak drinks so nobody could notice. He was going to talk to her later and he soon took her home to avoid a scene in front of colleagues from work.

She did get in to university somehow but she kept on drinking. It was only through making new friends who shared her intellectual interests that she finally got enough interest in her life and what she was doing that she finally accepted she had a problem. Once that happened, she worked out that she needs help. To my great amazement she joined the local AA group. As during that time she moved out of home I did not have much contact with her. She was drink-free for about 8 months before she told her family about it. It's been now a few more years without one drink. I noticed that recently she braved a glass of wine at a family dinner. She has a great partner though who cares for her deeply and her partner watches over her - ready to jump in at the first sign of trouble.

With supportive people who love and care for you and who don't have an addiction, you can combat yours much more easily. If you have an alcohol addiction or any other addiction for that matter, stay around people who do not share your addiction and ask for help. Join AA meetings or other support groups. You can and will beat this.