Faces of Alcohol Abuse
People do not become alcoholics because they have done something wrong. Alcoholism is a disease, just as depression and diabetes are diseases. The following people saw alcohol abuse in people they love. Through Al-Anon, they found help for themselves and advice about helping their loved ones. Here are their stories:
Jean. My husband Ed started drinking heavily when he retired. He used to have a drink when he got home from work in the evening, but all of a sudden, he was home all the time. He started having that first drink at 5:00, soon it was 3:30, and before I knew it, he was having his first drink of the day at 1:00 P.M. He started skipping his Rotary Club meetings because they were held in the evening. Usually by then he was too drunk to drive. I even heard him calling the other Rotarians on the phone to make excuses for missing the meetings. He told his friends that he was sick or that his old back injury was flaring up. He even blamed me, saying that I was making him stay home to mow the lawn. He never once let on what was really happening.
Lou. My wife Marietta lost her mother last year. It was a tough time for her. She is the "organized" one in the family and a lot of the funeral planning and financial issues fell on her shoulders. She always puts everyone and everything else first. At the end of the day, she would be so wound up that she needed a drink to relax. I am embarrassed to say I think that is what got her through. But the drinking kept getting worse and worse-- when she was unhappy or worried or tired, she would have a drink. When I look back, I see all the warning signs. She tried to hide all the empty bottles in the bottom of the trash, she got very short-tempered when she couldn't have a sherry "to calm her nerves," and she stopped baking bread on the weekends, which was always one of her great pleasures.
Loretta. My sister-in-law Dot and I were always very close, even after my brother died. She was constantly busy. She played bridge, worked part time in a pharmacy, went to bingo several times a week, and had us all over for coffee and dessert every Sunday. Once in a while, she would have "spells" of dizziness. I always thought it had to do with her epilepsy, which she took medication for. One Sunday, one of her spells was particularly bad and she fainted and took a bad fall. It turns out that she had been putting brandy in her coffee against her doctor's advice. The alcohol was reacting with her seizure medication, making her feel dizzy and eventually causing her to faint.
Sam. My friend Morgan and I used to meet up at our neighborhood bar to have a beer while we watched Monday night football. He started needing more and more beer to be able to "kick back" and get a buzz. When I mentioned that I was worried about how much he was drinking, he just got angry. After the game was over on TV, he would usually stay at the bar after I would leave because he said "he needed to sober up a bit". One night, the bartender called me at home and asked me to come pick Morgan up. He was afraid he wouldn't make it home. That's when the bartender told me that Morgan was in there almost every night.
