W's story

W had his first drink at 16 following a difficult childhood, during which he endured isolation, bullying and abuse.

After a suicide attempt at the age of 14 he started playing truant and hanging around with "bad kids".

He said: "Both my parents are teachers, so playing truant gave me status – people accepted me."

W left school at 16 and got into agricultural work. He spent his first wage packet on getting drunk with his workmates.

He said: "We got some cans of lager and cider and went to the park. I drank to 'blackout' – the stage where you're still functioning, but can't remember anything.

"It was my first drink and I drank like an alcoholic."

He continued: "For the next 26 years I absolutely loved my alcohol. Suddenly I had courage and a personality that people liked.

"All my worries disappeared and I felt happy."

W says he couldn't wait for the next chance to get drunk – it was all he could think about. It became an "absolute obsession" for him, with his mind and body craving alcohol.

He drank to blackout for many years and depression continued to be a major problem. About 10 years ago, W suffered a serious breakdown, but his response was not what you might expect.

He said: "I was elated! I didn't have to go to work and I could get drunk mid-week. I celebrated by going on a bender which lasted about 10 days.

"But when I tried to go back to weekend drinking, the week was so hard."

W says that during this time he did not realise that alcohol was the problem. He just saw it as a way to "escape the turmoil" in his mind and body.

He said: "If I was hankering for a drink I could derive no pleasure from anything – even my kids.

"I love them to pieces, but my thoughts would be elsewhere. If we were having a day out I would be thinking 'let the day be over so I can have a drink'."

W realised he had a problem when he went to Manchester to help out a friend, but struggled to stay sober for the week.

He had also started to become ill, suffering with kidney problems.

He said: "I went to a counsellor and was told I wasn't an alcoholic – but I hadn't told them how much I drank.

"I thought an alcoholic was a man on a park bench asking for change. I realise now that's where I was heading."

W also started to worry about what he had done and how he had acted when he was drunk, as he couldn't remember anything.

He recalls the last time he drank to blackout and the feelings of guilt and shame which ensued.

W said: "I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. At that moment I said to myself 'I'm an alcoholic'."

Two days later he went to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, not knowing what to expect.

He said: "All I knew about it was what I'd seen in films. I didn't want to be there, but I was desperate."

W was worried that it would be a religious programme, as people sometimes used to word "God" during the meeting.

But he realised that it was used in a spiritual sense to talk about a higher being, and that the programme is not attached to any particular religion.

W said: "The welcome I got was very special. People came up and spoke to me and there was an immense warmth within the group.

"Everyone was treated as equal, which was a big surprise for me."

He went on to live from meeting to meeting, the first week being an "absolute nightmare", but W's feeling of pride at the end of that week was immense.

As days became weeks, and weeks became months, W's life began to turn a corner.

He said: "Little miracles started happening. I would go out for a walk and really enjoy it. I would start to enjoy things that have nothing to do with alcohol.

"There was a magic in my life, a feeling of calm. I've stopped dreaming because my life has become a dream."

W, now 42, says the support he has received from AA has saved his life. Things have turned around so much that his partner recently asked him to marry her.

W, who has not had a drink for over six months, said: "I've given up one thing and in return I've got a life, and it just keeps getting better and better.

"If reading this brings just one person into the fellowship, and they get one tenth of what I've had, they're in for the ride of their life.

"I'm proof that fairytales can come true."


T's story began in last Wednesday's Evening News. If you missed it and
would like to read the first part, go to www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk and click on The Health Page link on the blue left-hand menu.


T's story continued

To an outsider, T seemed to have the perfect life. He had a wife and children, was running his own business and had a lovely home and two cars.

But still, his drinking problem continued to escalate.

He said: "I couldn't handle the VAT returns, solicitors fees ... I was in a mess. I had to sell the cars as I'd got into serious trouble with the building society."

When he was 32, T's wife left him, taking his sons with her. They had tried counselling, during which it was suggested to T that he may have a drinking problem.

He said: "That made me start thinking about it. I went to the doctor for a well man test and I was told that my liver was showing early signs of deterioration.

"But I just carried on drinking."

Finding it hard to stay in what used to be the family home, T went to work in Southern Ireland in a bid to start afresh.

But he says he came back in a worse state than ever.

Arriving at Leeds Train Station, T had no idea where to go. It was 5am and seeing a bus destined for Scarborough, he decided to get on.

T stayed in a B&B and got a job as an electrician, but colleagues started to notice he smelt of drink every morning.

He got sacked from a couple of jobs and ended up in and out of Scarborough Hospital, sometimes for up to six weeks at a time.

Everything came to a head when T was supposed to be meeting his three sons in Whitby for a Father's Day meal.

That day, T had been drinking from 6am. He went to the Lord Rosebery at opening time and stayed there all day, before getting on a bus to Whitby at 3pm.

He carried on drinking until he met his children at 8pm.

T said: "I remember I just berated my youngest son. I can still see the tears rolling down his face.

"My middle son, who was 21 at the time, said 'Dad, just get back to Scarborough'. I just gave him a tirade of abuse."

When T woke up the next morning, he realised something had to change.

He said: "I realised I couldn't do it anymore. Despite the houses I'd lost, the jobs I'd lost and the lies I'd told, this was what had brought it home.

"I went to the doctor and said 'I think I've got a problem'."

T went for counselling at the Cambridge Centre in Scarborough and his counsellor recommended going to an AA meeting.

T said: "I told her I wasn't an alcoholic, and she said just try it.

"I had thought that when my money ran out I'd stop drinking, but it got to the point where I was stealing cans and bottles of vodka in Tesco."

After walking past Westborough Church a number of times and thinking about going in to a meeting, T finally decided to take the plunge.

He said: "It's the best thing I've ever done. That was on July 14, 2008, and I haven't had a drink since."

T says without AA and the support of his GP, Scarborough Hospital and the Cambridge Centre, he would probably not be alive today.

He said: "I can't express my gratitude enough. I never thought I'd be able to stop drinking for 10 months.

"I needed alcohol to get through my life in certain situations. Some people go for a run or have a game of squash – but I drank to overcome my emotions and things that were going wrong.

"I've had some lovely jobs but I've never really felt part of anything before. AA is so friendly – it's just a wonderful fellowship and if reading this encourages just one person to seek help, I would be happy."