When we started Bottled Up our dream was to create a community where we would all help and support each other, that no one who was experiencing an issue with alcohol (through their own or a loved one’s drinking) would feel alone.
In this video we encourage you to share in the Forum and open a dialogue. Your experience is valuable to others as it lets them know that others are dealing with similar issues. Also, just the act of sharing helps to lessen your burden and set you free.
So come and share with us.
This is a previous article where we introduced The Chain of Care
Hello, thank you for sharing your kind help and support in your videos. Thanks for not making me feel so alone. I have a family member who is an alcoholic and is now in hospital at the moment with serious physical problems due to his drinking. He has now heart failure and has a bleed on his brain, and he is only 51 years old. His drinking is relentless, and we are left helpless as a family. His mental health has also been affected. I just wanted to share the tragic consequences of drinking alcohol, and how alcoholism is an illness.
I’m so sorry to hear about your relative Darren. My partner is currently having some tests for what we suspect are heart problems caused by alcohol and previously cocaine addiction. We have three young children and addiction has been a problem on and off for about 20 years. He’s trying to stop again now but I feel scared to hope that he might manage it this time and even more scared to hope that he might manage to maintain it. He still says he can’t imagine getting to a stage where he would never drink again. I feel angry and worn down. The amount of money we’ve lost over the years due to his addictions does not bear thinking about and at the moment we don’t even have enough to get by and his mental and physical health is now bad so it’s difficult for him to work. He’s also lost his driving licence due to drinking and is on probation for that and another offence. Sometimes I feel like I’m not the right person to support him as I feel like I have compassion fatigue and have become pretty bitter and cynical. I have told a couple of friends part of the story but haven’t told anyone the whole story as it feels like it would be more stressful if people knew everything that has happened.
Thanks so much Lou for saying ‘my child drinks’ there. I was wondering whether I fit in Bottled Up as maybe it’s for people who’s partner drinks, and my drinker is my child. I feel encouraged to use the forum and try to access the program
I’ve Just watched “Is Alcoholism a disease”. Geat video, very thought provoking.
Thank you so much for bringng this up. Strangely and coincidentally I had just been finally talkng openly to various friends about my husbands drinking, and one of them said “Well it is a disease” , which is of course something people will say. In a way I am pretty sure she was saying it to comfort me, as in “You have unfortunately got a partner who has an illness”, and “It’s not your fault, you couldn’t see this coming…”. In fact I have felt “Yes I could see this coming” as in he’s been a heavy drinker ever since I’ve known him (10 years) and also I feel strongly that he makes the choice to drink every day, and the choice of how much to drink. That is not like a disease. However I also know that his emotional baggage and lack of self worth and self knowledge is a driving factor in his drinking, which itself is a mental health issue. I don’t think my husband has the “disease of alcoholism” as you, John, have noted, he has a problem with drinking too much which relates to a lack of mental health, the inability to address certain issues, and instead he self medicates with alcohol.
I have been viewing lots of your videos and they have been so helpful to me, All the difficulties and hurt I’ve had, but listening to you helps me – I know I’m not alone and I feel validated, and supported. Thank you so much.
Hi everyone, it is my first time to the site and just watched the ‘We’re all in this together video’ and just wanted to say how nice it is to feel welcome and feel like I matter. It means so much. I am a problem drink and have been for about 20 years. My problems have recently hit rock bottom to the point where I can’t have one drink without it leading to me being paralytic. I no longer have any control. The person I become when I drink is vile and I don’t want to be this way anymore. My marriage and family are at risk if I don’t fix this. I just appreciate your help.