Clients Stories – Alcohol Free with Harrogate Sanctuary
After 25 years of being enslaved by what I thought was my love for wine, and feeling hopeless that I could ever live without it, I have been freed from what I now know was actually an abusive relationship. As a therapist, I have witnessed the devastation that alcohol has caused in many of my client’s lives due to their parents’ drinking, or their spouses, or their own. I would hear their harrowing stories in the daytime and come home and pour myself a glass of wine, then two, three, or even four. I felt entitled to that, after all, and since I didn’t fall down drunk, and hadn’t lost my marriage, or my house, or my children, there wasn’t a problem, right?
Except that I lost myself. Slowly, insidiously, over the years it sucked the joy out of my life. It robbed me of the ability to connect with others, to maintain a deep intimacy in my relationships, mostly with myself. I felt like a fraud, not just at work but with friends. The voice of shame kept telling me not to let myself be truly known by anyone else because I had this awful secret that I had to keep hidden.
This was my life, until I met and worked with Sarah. What I have found behind the cloud of my alcohol use was my true self, without shame, without judgment, without self-hatred. Yes, not having to have wine every night of my life has been amazing, but that was only the beginning. I never could have imagined that I would find a life without alcohol that would make me feel grateful not to have it in my life.
Sarah is a wonder. Full of life and humor and compassion and the ability to drill straight through all of the fog to the heart of what is keeping us from our best life, from freedom, and from loving ourselves. She is able to stand alongside and encourage, challenge and support all at the same time. When I first read about her I thought, “Well, I could probably do this myself, no need to do all this.” Thank God I didn’t listen to that voice. Even if I could have white knuckled it by myself, why? I know that I never would have gained the insights, self-awareness, and even self-love that I have now. This isn’t just about stopping the alcohol, it’s about healing the soul and spirit. I will always be grateful to you Sarah.
C. L. Denver
I found myself working with Sarah after an unsuccessful attempt at ‘tapering’ down from 500ml/750ml of spirits daily, led to a seizure and week long hospital stay. As a historically very active, healthy and generally carefree 33 year old male, it was a situation far from one I’d ever imagined, but following what is now close to five months of working with Sarah, I can happily and confidently say, that it is one I won’t be returning to. Unlike the other solutions available to those of us struggling with alcohol, Sarah’s approach to life in general, behaviours and accountability, delivered in a firm but fair manner, are simply a breath of fresh air, and one which I only wish was available to all.
From the first few weeks of the program, the written daily updates and bi-weekly video calls were crucial tools in providing the support and guidance needed to adjust to the alcohol free way of life, and the unexpected non-alcohol related challenges it poses. At first, I didn’t understand fully the benefits of the daily updates, but looking back on the difference in cognitive function, managing thoughts and crucially, handling scenarios which previously led to ‘just one to settle the nerves’, the benefits are clear. The program gives you as an individual, the necessary processes to live a life without alcohol, in a way six months ago I simply couldn’t comprehend or even believe was possible.
I honestly couldn’t recommend Sarah enough and feel beyond grateful to have found the Harrogate Sanctuary. She truly is a breath of fresh air and in more ways than one, a life saver. If the challenge of giving up the dreaded poison feels too great, or you can’t imagine yourself living without it, please believe there is a way out, and its one that can be managed in strict confidence, from your own home and around your own schedule.
Thank you Sarah. J. G. UK
For many years I danced the wicked dance with alcohol and I noticed at a young age that it affected me differently than most people I knew. In the beginning, as I’m sure it is with most people, it romanced me and I viewed it as this magical thing that made everything better. By the time I started to see how badly it had begun to treat me, it was already too late. For years, the past three or four in particular I tried to stop drinking. I tried, I failed, I spiraled, I crashed and I tried again constantly on a never-ending loop. So much so that I thought I was going to go crazy.
I’m a very ambitious and driven person and I couldn’t seem to understand how this thing had become the focal point of my whole entire life. How could someone who runs marathons, eats well and has a genuine passion to be fit and healthy do this to themselves again and again? it didn’t make sense to me and I started to resent myself more and more with each failed attempt. I read the books, listened to the podcasts and tried my best to wear the t-shirt but ended up white knuckling it each time and giving in at any slight inconvenience in my life.
I had hidden the extent of my drinking to most people and I became very good at making others see only what I wanted them to see. As a result, my struggles and pain and failed attempts were all dealt with in private. Finally I reached out to somebody very close to me who had gone through very similar struggles and had successfully stopped drinking. I’m an extremely proud person, but my mental health was suffering so bad at that stage that the only thing worse than finally opening up would be to continue drinking and I could no longer live in that horrible place that alcohol had placed me.
This person put me in contact with the wonderful, charming and beautiful person that is Sarah Turner. From the moment I started working with her I no longer felt that I had this enormous weight to carry by myself every single day. Her course made me see alcohol for what it truly was and helped me to stop blaming myself. Through constant contact, I was able to open up to Sarah more about my true feelings than I had ever done with anybody in my life and it was truly liberating. She was like my little secret weapon and my vote of confidence when I didn’t have any in myself. Through her I learned so much about myself and how much I had ignored or kept quiet for so long. In dealing with my struggle with alcohol I was also able to deal with other issues in my life that had been keeping me down for so long. I was finally gaining the confidence to deal with things head on instead of shutting myself down and numbing it out.
As the weeks progressed, through constant assurance, empathy, understanding and sheer matter-of-factness on Sarah’s part, I started to feel this glow inside of me that is growing stronger day by day. Of course, there are still off days, but nothing compared to the anxiety and stress that was once caused by that poison. Now I have this wonderful tool kit that Sarah has given me to be able to deal with tricky situations and I have learned to love myself enough to not ever want to harm my body or mind again.
Sarah is one in a million. It was an honor and privilege to have her in my corner for those 6 weeks. I will never forget what she has done for me and my life and I will be forever grateful. K from Dublin.
As complex as my problems were, Sarah managed to hit on key issues, with such precision that she immediately made me see that I was neither a failure nor powerless, and I thought these points were absolutely vital and so well made over the 42 days that I worked with her, along with the unrelenting support, I now feel confident enough to share.
The insanity of 2hrs of self-abuse, the utterly pointless pre and post hours, the poisoning effects…
Understanding learned behaviour, image manipulation of booze, the illusion. Making sense of the way you think in a scientific creative way, which can lead to overthinking, over complicating, too clever for your own good.
Getting the KISS approach to life once you have stopped being annoyed and irritated by its simplicity. The impulse button is disabled with firmly embedded truths of consequences focusing on the despair that certainly would follow. “That look” anyone’s face….makes you shudder, and remember you are doing the right thing for YOU.
You can’t predict the future and don’t need to. Being grown up does not mean old, there is a long middle first. Spend more time writing than thinking. You may have deleted a few memory banks but the motherboard is undergoing a massive self-repair. The brain scans were such a relief and repainted exciting possibilities. I can feel the trickle of new neural pathways. I know the old ones aren’t going away but withering. That’s ok.
I was in the grip of a life threatening chronically progressive habit that I had become allergic to, recognising that I was no longer young enough to tolerate it. I was older not old, it was age related. It was something I was concerned about but having dealt with it, it wasn’t as bad as those 3 months of dry rot.
Thanks Sarah, it’s been life changing
— Anonymous, London
On the final day of my six weeks of working with you, six weeks of being alcohol free, I spent my 50th birthday having the most wonderful time, laughing, chatting and enjoying myself as much as – no that’s not quite true – more than, I have done in years. Because on my 50th birthday I knew, for the first time in over 30 years, that I no longer wanted or needed alcohol to feel truly happy.
After spending over half my life depending daily on ever larger quantities of wine to get me through almost every aspect of my life, I never thought in a million years that I’d ever be able to achieve such a feat. I am so immensely grateful to you for helping me get there, every single step of the way. From the first, faltering, frightened, doubt-filled days, to today, a new alcohol free me, in control of my actions, decisions and thoughts.
No more desperate worries about my life spiralling out of control, bleak hopelessness and deep self-hatred, instead a huge sense of energy, pride, self-worth, and optimism for my future, as a mother, a friend, a colleague and a person. I am no longer just existing, I am living again.You have been an inspiration and a rock, and I hope that I will carry with me the strength and the clear-sightedness that you have given me for the rest of my life.
All of those wonderful things that I now see that alcohol took away from me, you have helped me regain.Your insights, deep understanding, knowledge, advice, empathy and support have buoyed me through the tough times, and have encouraged and inspired me to believe in myself, forgive myself, and like myself again, for the first time in many long years.
You have given me my life back, Sarah, and the pride and positivity that I feel is immeasurable.
You are a remarkable and wonderful person, and I feel so immensely lucky that I’ve had the incredible good luck to have had your presence in my life.You have my deepest gratitude always.
—Anonymous, USA
There is nothing else like the Sanctuary. Over the years I tried the lot. Rehab, at massive financial cost, hypnotherapy, that was very short term, addictions counsellors who were always on the clock, and I was desperate to break my habit of wine drinking on a daily basis.
— Anonymous, Sydney
Sarah is skilful and truly does care. Now having my wellness back is completely outstanding. I owe her so much, and if anyone doubts the effectiveness of her treatment I would be more than happy to speak to them.
— Helen, London
After years, 25 to be precise, of trying to find my way out of the grip of alcohol, I found Sarah and the Sanctuary. No-one does it better, she is simply the best.
— Anna, New York
Sarah offers a long term solution, not a quick temporary fix. From over a bottle of wine a night for 15 years, I am now a non drinker
Claire, UK.
Sarah provides exceptional treatment & service, this is about so much more than drinking too much”
Anne T, London
There are many more Testimonials on The Blog.