"Detoxed for 9 days, from Alcohol 31st August 2017"

I had been dry from alcohol for 7 years, due to becoming complacent, not using outside alcohol support or AA meetings I thought I could do controlled drinking. After a 4 year long relapse, my addiction to alcohol, grew & grew, to were it started to take over & control my life. I had started planning everything around alcohol. This relapse caused used problems to my behaviour & got me in to lots of difficult situations, fighting, police cells, damaging my property, my health, worry to my 3 children, family & friends. This lead me to drink driving with a recent ban of 18 months.Drinking was destroying my life, slowly but surely. I was aware of this but I couldn't make the first step for help, my addiction was at an all time high again, I couldn't put the drink down. All the tools that I used to help me stay sober for 7 years, had all gone so rusty, that I was unable to pick them up all again, which made me very vulnerable to my alcohol dependency. All that I could remember from my final last 2 drinking episodes were, planning an overdose on my slow release morphine, which would have definitely been fatal. The second episode was my partner finding me trying to throw myself out of an upstairs window.. I was taken to A&E by my partner, Son & Daughter, I can remember nurses & Dr's talking to me there.

I woke up the following morning, not really knowing where I was, from the moment I woke & for the next 9 days I was detoxed, I was so relieved, that the staff at Hospital, my family & the Chapman Barker Unit, had helped me to take that first step to recovery & tp finally put that drink down. The structure that is set at CBU is set to a very high standard & is followed extremely seriously by all staff there. The support they give, the care they show, their commitment to all, helping with those first days of sobriety.This is so needed for any individual that come in to their care, I have never experienced any other organisation within the NHS like CBU. The non-judgemental attitude is so welcoming. Some staff have experience of personal addiction, which I do think helps greatly. They have been through similar life experiences around addiction & they understand triggers, relapse, detoxing/rehab & are living proof, that we can have a better life without alcohol/drugs or prescribed drugs. Routine is paramount to staff at CBU, medicine times, attending

group therapy/acupuncture/meetings/one to one's/ meal times/ rules etc, at CBU are all adhered to by staff, expected of patients if they are capable of attendance. I really enjoyed my group therapy & threw myself into all that was offered to me because I knew it would help me, when leaving CBU. If I hadn't been admitted I would probably still be stuck in my alcoholism or even worse. I am now 20 days sober, home & under the care of BIDAS for my future support. I am going to join a recovery college & better myself & hopefully seek employment. Thank you CBU for helping me see my brighter future xxx