I am a practicing GP, and have also been an enthusiastic drinker, too enthusiastic, for the last ten years, quite simply using it as so many others do as my excuse for relaxation and dumbing down after work. What concerned me greatly was speaking with patients daily, and far more frequently women about their very shy admittance of perhaps having one over the eight. As a doctor, trained in many states of health, I had never been trained, or even grasped the different levels of use. Mine seemed normal, so any one coming to me with a similar story seemed normal, stress of work an family, often depression, it was up to me to either say try to cut down, and/or prescribe anti-depressants. The longer it went on, the more of a bigot I began to feel. A hypocrite, and completely unauthentic. I was overweight, so that didn’t help.
Sarah was recommended by a family friend, who had been through the programme and quite embarrassingly for me, she had drunk less, was just savvy enough to intervene earlier. On top of the drinking, I was also going through the menopause, and the alcohol was throwing a massive spanner in that condition too.
It took me 7 months to call, and it has been a revelation. Not just for me, but for my attitude towards my patients, and empathy in understanding how delusional we become. There were no pills to take, no strict rules, just a fast and logically communication daily with Sarah, who understands dependence on alcohol better than any other person within my profession, or addiction organisations than I had ever met. Of course it was a leap of faith, but I shall never regret it, my weight loss has also been remarkable, I look on form, and feel it. Please, just as you would see a specialist within a heartbeat for any other potentially life limiting condition, see the best, because she is, and I shall refer as much as I can her superb service and very gentle insightful approach. It is revolutionary.
