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| Addictive Poison! | | | Rehabilitated alcoholic, Sunil Saroo (name changed), believes that if you don't fight the craving,
alcoholism can destroy your life and the lives of your loved ones
1. Alcoholism is not a war that is fought and conquered in one go. Even if an individual seeks help and manages to kick the habit, there is a possibility of relapse. After being sober for twenty years, actor Robin Williams suffered a relapse and started drinking again. Fortunately, as his publicist Mara Buxbaum said, "He is seeking treatment for alcoholism. When Williams found himself drinking again, he decided to take proactive measures to deal with this for his own well-being and the well-being of his family."
2. In the ‘80s, actress Melanie Griffith struggled with an alcohol problem, the actress was dependant on the substance to such a degree that she was admitted into a rehabilitation clinic and luckily, she recovered. However, in the recent past, she was addicted to prescription drugs but once again recovered.
3. Drew Barrymore received instant stardom after she played the little girl in Steven Spielberg's E.T.—she was seven years old then. By the age of nine, she was abusing drugs and alcohol and went to rehab. She beat the addiction. Now, two decades later, she is one of Hollywood's most successful performers and producers.
4. To overcome alcoholism and substance abuse is difficult and strenuous, but not impossible. The admittance and acceptance of the problem is half the battle won. If you 'WANT' to get help, it is available, but, it is up to you to reach out for a solution.
I had my first sip of alcohol at boarding school when I was 13. It was the three-rupees-a-bottle variety, which the 'elders' used to indulge in. Being a child, I wanted to experience a grown-up indulgence and as a consequence, suffered more than two decades of mental, physical and emotional anguish. Alcoholism is a disease that not only affected me; it consumed even my friends and family. After my friends and I were caught drinking in school we were expelled and I returned home to Mumbai.
I refrained from any further drinking for two years. But, when I joined college I started binging on alcohol again. I used to catch up with a group of friends every Saturday and we usually had dinner and drank socially. That was during the initial stages of my addiction and I was unaware that I had a problem. I remember getting very impatient and couldn't wait until the evening to start drinking again. I would start with the bottle during the day and by the time I met my friends, I would already be high, but would continue to drink till I passed out. At get-togethers, I usually drank the most and even gulped down some of the drinks in a hurry to make sure I had the most liquor. Soon my friends started to see the pattern and withdrew from my company. Undaunted by the loss of my friends, I continued drinking every day and each day I sunk further into the addiction.
It was another decade before I admitted to having a drinking problem and in the meanwhile, I continued to hurt both myself and the ones closest to me. My parents had begun to suffer because of my drinking. My father is a reputable man and our neighbours held him in the highest regard. I knew it was not easy for him to face society because of my problem, and as a result my parents stopped being very social. Even then, it didn't dawn on me that I needed help. My only priority was to get the next drink, and if anyone tried to talk me out of drinking I stopped acknowledging them. I could not stand being told that I needed to stop or, at least, limit my consumption of alcohol. I even borrowed money to buy my drinks and went into debt, which my father, just to save face, paid on my behalf.
When I turned 28, my parents got me married in the hope that marriage would help me sober up. The attempt failed, and within eight months my alcoholism precipitated the end of my marriage. In a year-and-a-half I was divorced, and that gave me a new reason to drink. This worked in favour of the addiction because it validated the drinking and my condition worsened. A few years later I was remarried. This marriage helped me begin my journey towards a better, sober life.
When I got married the second time, we lived in a house of our own. At this point, I tried very hard to quit but the addiction had turned into a demon that was far stronger than my will power. My wife was pregnant with our first child, but due to constant stress over my drinking, she delivered prematurely. The baby didn't survive and we lost our firstborn. I knew I had to stop, or the alcoholism would completely destroy me and my loved ones. Unfortunately, people are not patient with problems like mine, and since I had tried several times to quit without success, no one took me seriously. I had no support, only scorn. All these factors led me straight to the bottle. Soon, my wife was pregnant again. This time she gave birth to our son and I knew that somehow I had to find the strength to stop drinking — even if it meant the birth of a miracle.
The miracle came in form of a social worker who was also a colleague. She encouraged me to join Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). I had heard about AA but had never attended any meetings. I was in a bar one evening and overheard someone talking about AA. I decided to attend a meeting. On October 3, 1988 (I even remember it was a Monday) I went to my first AA meeting — it changed my life forever. It's been 18 years since and I haven't had a single sip of anything even remotely alcoholic.
The battle I had to fight to maintain my sobriety was not easy. And if it weren't for the compassion and patience that I received at AA, I wouldn't have achieved this. It was the first time I was welcomed for being an alcoholic, and not rejected. I needed someone to understand my problem, about how hard it is to stop. It seemed incurable. But, for the last 18 years, one day at a time, I have struggled to fight my addiction, and now, I am completely clean. My wife and I are still together and our son is in a reputable college, completing his education. The battle to fight alcoholism is never over. There are several people who aren't even aware that they are alcoholics, or on their way to getting addicted. My story is one among thousands and this is what should be learned from it: Nothing is impossible and no one is too weak to stop, regardless of how many years you might have spent abusing your mind, body and spirit. It takes one step and that step is usually the hardest, but once you've found the courage to admit you have a problem, you will find the perseverance to overcome it. |
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