Name: Margaret
Occupation: Maths Teacher
Age: 34 years old
Sobriety: 2 Years

Margaret had been drinking alcohol for over 10 years and when her life crumbled around her, she thought all avenues were exhausted but managed to come to Abbeycare for a month-long stay. Margaret lets us know of what happened and how she is now, after treatment with us.


Margaret said: “I committed to change at Abbeycare 2 years ago and, thankfully, the change has taken place.

“Before I reached Abbeycare, I had been to see my doctor on too many occasions to remember. I found him helpful and he had given me a few rounds of prescriptions to detox which never lasted long.  He also pointed me towards the addictions team, whom I found ineffective. Looking back now, they were completely lacking in knowledge – they really had no idea about how to get well from this illness.

“The addictions team seemed to be able to explain the symptoms of the problem, but no solutions, apart from cutting down and keep a diary. I thought, if it was that simple, my life wouldn’t have been falling apart. As a teacher, having an alcohol issue caused me all sorts of problems. The board were supportive for a while but as I never really responded to other treatments, I was getting into serious trouble. Eventually, I was recommended to Abbeycare by a friend whose father had been successfully treated there.

“My experience at Abbeycare was the turning point of my life. I learned so much about my feelings and emotions – particularly the fact I was often misunderstanding my feelings and acting out on the wrong ones.  I also learned numerous methods to control my anxieties, particularly emotional freedom technique (EFT) which is simply amazing.”

“I believe it was my anxieties that accelerated my use, then abuse, of alcohol. At first, alcohol changed my inner feelings of over-self-consciousness and shyness into me being extrovert and confident, but it never lasted. Before I knew it I was abusing alcohol every day, which lead to severe stress and unmanageability in every aspect of my personal and professional life.”

“That’s all in the past now and I now live a wonderful life, I really do. My life is now full of awareness and I now have the ability to live each day unchained from the bottle. My stay at Abbeycare hasn’t just sobered me up – it has transformed my life to one bursting with happiness, positivity and purpose. Going to Abbeycare has been the best decision I have or will ever make.”

 


Read More Success Stories: 

  1. John Reaping
  2. John M Perth 
  3. Peter’s Sober Christmas 
  4. Memories of Christmas Pasts

 

About the author

Peter Szczepanski

Peter has been on the GPhC register for 29 years. He holds a Clinical Diploma in Advanced Clinical Practice and he is a Clinical Lead in Alcohol and Substance Misuse for Abbeycare Gloucester and works as the Clinical Lead in Alcohol and Substance Use in Worcestershire. Peter also co-authored the new 6th edition of Drugs In Use by Linda Dodds, writing Chapter 15 on Alcohol Related Liver Disease. Find Peter on Respiratory Academy, Aston University graduates, University of Birmingham, Q, Pharmaceutical Journal, the Dudley Pharmaceutical Committee, Dudley Council, Twitter, and LinkedIn.