"I now have a better understanding of my addiction"

It was from the age of 14 when I first started to drink, I was allowed to at family events as alcohol was heavily ingrained into the culture of my family’s celebrations. I didn’t notice that I had a problem with alcohol as I associated my drinking with happy times and people enjoying themselves. Over time my family would comment on how much I was drinking and express their concern for me. However I wasn’t prepared to address my issues regarding alcohol, therefore my problems continued.

I would often leave myself with no money for the rest of the week because I had spent it all on alcohol. I found myself becoming aggressive and staring fights unnecessarily, I had even been so drunk that I’d wander home alone putting myself into vulnerable situations. Due to my actions I have lost many relationships, with friends and family, as they no longer trust me, I’ve missed countless Sundays with my children because I was hungover. To top it all off I have given myself liver problems as a result to my years of binge drinking.

I tried to take control of my problems many times, I avoided friends who would invite me out and I even went as far as giving away my bank card so I could withdraw money, unfortunately I realised these options weren’t realistic and didn’t work. Eventually I reached out to my GP who referred me to CGL. From sitting their course my CGL keyworker informed me about Intuitive Thinking Skills, this sounded like the solution I was looking for and I asked to be referred so I could have a better understanding of my addiction. I then sat their Intuitive Recovery, Skills Tu Life and Enoughs Enough courses. My experience there was very positive, I was able to further my understanding about addiction and how my brain was working. The tutors I sat these course with were friendly and extremely helpful. I even found a new job more suitable than my previous one with their help.

The Intuitive Recovery course teaches many different tools and skills to use in day to day life but the one that with me the most was transposing, separating whether I want something or if IT wants something. I often use this for decision making in all aspects of life. I noticed I needed to use my ADR (Addictive Desire Recognition) a lot, however my brain has now made new associations and I find that my AD (Addictive Desire) doesn’t kick in half as much.

Since completing the courses I have rebuilt relationships with my friends and family, I am now sober and able to spend more time with my children which has meant a much better relationship between us, I have a new job with more money to spend, and finally I am happier, healthier and my mental state is much more stable. I am now planning to continue building these relationships, progress with my career and set a good example for my children.