Addiction?

Do you know anyone who succesfully fought alcoholism and ended up a changed person?

I mean personally, like a friend or love partner.

YEP!!!! Believe it or not, the pastor of my church. Alcoholism runs through his family. His testimony goes a little like this:

His father was an alcoholic. My pastor took drugs in the past on top of drinking alcohol excessively. He himself put it like this: "I was the first one in the bar, and last one out of the bar." One day, he came out of the bar, hopped on his motorcycle, and drove off as fast as possible .... and he looked behind him (going like a million miles an hour) and all the road signs were backwards .... this particular distortion of his vision was caused by his alcohol intake. So, he stopped his motorcycle and happened to stumble in a church and he realized he needed a Savior. And the Lord set him free ..... and still to this day, the Lord is using his testimony! Isn't that neat????!!!!! :-)

Yes ...Me!! I did it by slowly weening myself off from the heavy drinking. I now only enjoy a glass of wine here and there. I have a new attitude on life and don't feel anxiety or hate for humanity anymore. I am changed in a great way.

yes alcoholism is an ugly thing but it is completely possible to get through and live the rest of your life as normal function person, but it only works if and when that person is ready to overcome that problem and is ready for the change.

I have alcoholics in my family some quit when they are ready some drink til they die

If it is you I wish the best to you, if it is someone you know the ball is in their court all you can do is assist when they reach that point

no

I've known several. Two that stick out in my mind are a cousin who's been sober for 30 years now. My best friend's mom was sober for 10 years before she passed from cancer. They both changed alot from their drinking days to when they sobered up.

A very good friend of mine was a serious alcoholic. He had early liver failure from drinking but still couldn't stop. Eventually he suddenly developed this genetically recessive blindness that ran in his family. It was caused by drinking too much. (I know it sounds unbelieveable- leber's retinopathy) Now he can't see or drive.

But after that he decided to turn his life around. He stopped denying the problem and stopped cold turkey. He is spiritual now and recognizes how his life contributed to his problem. Needless to say, he has a good job (he works still for IBM) and has continued to live. He is one of the finest people I know. Took him about 30 years to quit but he is ok now.

Yes, I am a recovering alcoholic. I have now been clean and sober for 15 years. As for being a changed person, I don't know if I can honestly attest to that because I still have to fight the demons that drove me to addiction in the first place. I also gave up cigarettes 2 years ago, and now the urge to stray from my commitments are even stronger.

Part of my problem is blindness to the point of functional limitations, partial loss of hearing, severe back and joint disorders and constant back and joint pain. I took addictive pain relievers (morphine, hydrocodone, etc) but the effects of the medication were worse than the pain, so I finally gave them up and learned to live with the pain (most of the time). At any rate I like to think that i am still a functioning member of society and that I still have a good outlook on life and a hopeful attitude toward others. I enjoy meeting and getting to know new friends, even if it is virtually via the internet, and I especially enjoy helping others.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me.

yes, i know lots of people, LOTS... some of my closest friends have been off drugs or alcohol (depending on their problem) for upwards of 10 years or more now...

and ME too,
i've been off of everything for 7 years, and my life is 100% different and improved in every way possible

it happens all the time, but not often enough...