It was a shame to read about Ben Affleck in the news this morning. I don't know who he is not having seen any of his movies, but to read that anyone is suffering due to alcoholism is always something I tend to spot and my hopes for a full recovery go out to him.
But reading these sort of news articles must make many people looking to quit alcohol despair. They can read that someone spending vast sums on rehab is unable to quit, even after having managed it before, so how can they possibly expect to be able to stay off booze forever themselves if someone like Ben can't.
The article then describes what Ben has as an illness and is that not perhaps where the problem lies, and why he has had to go back to rehab so many times?
Readers of my blogs will know that I follow a hard line and that I believe quitting alcohol has to be a 'forever' decision if you are to truly escape alcohol.
I never discussed my drink problem with an 'expert', but I know that if I had have done, and had been told I had an illness or that what I had was hereditary it would have given me the excuse I would have been craving to either not quit or to forgive myself if I was unable to stay off the booze. Coming home pissed after a year of not drinking I would have felt able to say 'oh dear, my illness is back, I will have to start again' or at least give myself the comfort that my drinking was not my fault and not something I could be blamed for.
My drinking was my fault, no-one else's. Yes, I was brought up in a world of drinking and encouraged to drink from an early age, and I still work in an environment where drinking is the norm, but that is why I got into the drinking habit which eventually became all consuming. My being an alcoholic was not an illness I caught, and because I didn't fall into that 'not my fault' trap is why I and so many others with that same mindset as me have found it so much easier to quit.
What Ben has is a habit. He needs to recognise that, accept he has to quit forever, and address the issues and circumstances that are stopping him break that habit. If he continues to be told he is ill and needs constant support he will never be able to truly escape the alcohol trap. I wish him well.
But reading these sort of news articles must make many people looking to quit alcohol despair. They can read that someone spending vast sums on rehab is unable to quit, even after having managed it before, so how can they possibly expect to be able to stay off booze forever themselves if someone like Ben can't.
The article then describes what Ben has as an illness and is that not perhaps where the problem lies, and why he has had to go back to rehab so many times?
Readers of my blogs will know that I follow a hard line and that I believe quitting alcohol has to be a 'forever' decision if you are to truly escape alcohol.
I never discussed my drink problem with an 'expert', but I know that if I had have done, and had been told I had an illness or that what I had was hereditary it would have given me the excuse I would have been craving to either not quit or to forgive myself if I was unable to stay off the booze. Coming home pissed after a year of not drinking I would have felt able to say 'oh dear, my illness is back, I will have to start again' or at least give myself the comfort that my drinking was not my fault and not something I could be blamed for.
My drinking was my fault, no-one else's. Yes, I was brought up in a world of drinking and encouraged to drink from an early age, and I still work in an environment where drinking is the norm, but that is why I got into the drinking habit which eventually became all consuming. My being an alcoholic was not an illness I caught, and because I didn't fall into that 'not my fault' trap is why I and so many others with that same mindset as me have found it so much easier to quit.
What Ben has is a habit. He needs to recognise that, accept he has to quit forever, and address the issues and circumstances that are stopping him break that habit. If he continues to be told he is ill and needs constant support he will never be able to truly escape the alcohol trap. I wish him well.
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