Category: – Quitting Drugs & Alcohol

From ‘One of the Lads’ to a Gorgeous Woman… Through Self-Love

by Rebecca Wingrave 

I spent about 20 years of my life drinking, partying, trying to be ‘one of the lads’ and generally having a complete lack of self-worth. I got really ill as a teenager from overindulgence in alcohol, but just carried on as it was what I felt gave me confidence and was what all young people did; I didn’t know another way of being.

I began suffering from digestive issues and so decided to seek help. I was advised by a nutritionist to stop eating gluten and dairy and to cut down on my alcohol consumption; over the next couple of years I started to feel better. I noticed how sick the alcohol made me so decided to stop drinking it altogether – the problem was that my social life was based around drinking and my friends found it hard to understand why I wanted to stop… I really felt like the odd one out. Continue reading “From ‘One of the Lads’ to a Gorgeous Woman… Through Self-Love” →

From Abuse to Responsibility

by Michael Dixon, Lismore, Australia

When I was 15, a friend of mine offered me a cigarette. I tried smoking it, coughed a lot, got about half way through it, then threw the rest away, spending the rest of the day trying to get the horrible taste out of my mouth. At that age, smoking was cool; all my friends seemed to be doing it, even cigars on special occasions. I wanted to feel like I belonged to the club, so to speak, and by the age of 16 I was hooked. Continue reading “From Abuse to Responsibility” →

Choosing To Live My Life, My Way

by Penny Scheenhouwer

In my early 20’s, I made a decision to change my lifestyle. I stopped drinking alcohol and smoking, I cut gluten, dairy, sugar and caffeine from my diet. I also ended a relationship after realising that my partner and I were just going through the motions. He was not interested in what I thought or felt about things and most of the time we spent together revolved around going out and partying. One day, I just decided that I would rather be on my own forever than settle for being with someone who was not really interested in being with me.

Why did I make these choices? My life seemed great. I was earning a lot of money for someone my age, had loads of friends, played sport and had a great social life (which was always about drinking). I also used to have mood swings, cry a lot, get angry for no reason and hated myself. I couldn’t reconcile the fact that I seemed to have what was deemed a great life yet, I felt otherwise on the inside. I decided that things were not working and something had to change. I didn’t really ‘know’ what I was doing but just went with what I felt to do. I started to feel much better about myself, more settled within myself, I had loads more energy and of course my skin looked great and I lost weight. I also started to like myself (wouldn’t go as far as love yet!).

Continue reading “Choosing To Live My Life, My Way” →

My Story

I am now a 33 year old woman. I grew up sailing around the world. I had a very different childhood. It was not always easy and I had grown up with many ways of coping and dealing with what life had offered me. As a child I was sexually molested and I hardly went to school. I smoked marijuana every day from when I was 16 years old until I was 30, and when I say every day, I mean everyday (with exception of about 4 or 6 days). Even when I was traveling internationally I would make marijuana brownies and eat them to get high.

The point is, I did not like how life was and the only way I enjoyed life was if I was stoned and numb. I would wake up and smoke, and I would smoke during the day, and then smoke a lot at night so that I would pass out. I could easily smoke an ounce a week (that is a lot). And to me, that was normal and I was “fine”. I would go out with friends, drink alcohol, go to festivals and take ecstasy, magic mushrooms and a few other drugs. I thought I was fine, because I wasn’t doing cocaine or heroin. Continue reading “My Story” →

My Life was Fuelled with Alcohol and Drugs

by Fiona Shuttleworth, UK

I thought my life was OK. I seemed to tick most boxes and felt happy enough compared to others I knew who were a lot more miserable than me. But I always felt like there was something missing in my life, and I knew deep down that I was holding myself back in some way. The problem was I was so unconfident within myself that I never trusted my own feelings, and always defaulted to others’ opinions, feelings and ideas, even when I didn’t really want to. My life was fuelled with alcohol, drugs of every kind, and cigarettes. The funny thing was I always knew I didn’t want to be that person, but I just never seemed to be able to break the pattern, and I had tried numerous things. Continue reading “My Life was Fuelled with Alcohol and Drugs” →

Why do we ever have more than One Hangover?

By Dr Anne Malatt, Australia

Most of us can remember having a hangover and saying to ourselves that we will never drink alcohol again.  Why do we? Why do we drink to begin with? 

Alcohol is a poison. It kills nerve cells, and hence pain. It is a sugar hit which picks us up at the end of a hard day and leaves us feeling comfortably numb. It is a treat, a reward for a day’s work. The prospect of enjoying a drink can get us through a day, a week, a life. It can be a substitute for intimacy, a companion, a best friend. No wonder we arc up at the prospect of losing it. Continue reading “Why do we ever have more than One Hangover?” →