“If your drinking is a problem to you or those around you, you’re probably an alcoholic.”
I have the South African National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence (SANCA) to thank for my ultimate sobriety. Over December 2003 and January 2004, I spent a month receiving Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, a program introduced by the resident head doctor, Nicolette van Zyl. She had spent a few years in the UK where the program originated before bringing it to South Africa.
Although I relapsed over a year later, this final brief flirtation with alcohol eliminated any future desire to drink. This time, I spent a week in a medical clinic under the close supervision of doctors and specialists. My treatment focused on long-term cognitive healing, further supporting the therapy I received at SANCA. I left the clinic after a week and I’ve never had so much as a tinge of desire to drink ever again.
At no point in any of my stints in rehab have I ever encountered the famous Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step Program? I never had a sponsor, never read The Big Book, and only ever attended a few NA meetings after SANCA. What I knew of Alcoholics Anonymous was what I learned from movies and TV. I had no idea what “system” of rehabilitation I was handing myself over to when we booked my bed at SANCA West Rand. What I knew was that whatever they were offering, I was buying. I was going there to get better, and I was willing to do whatever it took. I handed over the reins to someone else to show me how.
A good friend recently completed a stay at a rehabilitation centre that utilises the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step Program. I went to visit him towards the end of his stay and was struck by his new demeanour. He seemed calm and controlled, with an air of reservation about him. When we sat down and I asked about the program, he remarked why he believed I seemed to have found it so easy to stop drinking for all these years. It was because I was already a Child of God. He gifted me a copy of The Big Book — the AA’s guide for any alcoholic wishing to follow their program.
The core of the AA program is acknowledging you are powerless against the allure of alcohol and handing it over control to a Higher Power.
Over the past 20 years, I have been involved in trying to find help for many alcoholic and drug-addicted friends, family, and even some strangers. I referred at least eight patients to the same rehab facility I “graduated” from. To every person afflicted by addiction or alcoholism who desperately wants to be clean, I have a standard proviso:
You cannot do this without the help of a Higher Power.
I have said this for many years because I saw how it helped both me and my roommate at SANCA. We were both God-fearing men who had handed over to Him to take control of our lives. Together, we read our Bibles, we knelt and prayed at our bedsides, and we encouraged and helped each other daily. Around 45 people came through the establishment while we were there. To my knowledge, it was only the two of us who were ever clean and sober afterwards, and we still are today. Every year around Christmas and New Year, my roomie and I exchange wishes of goodwill and give glory to God for keeping us clean and sober all these years.
I recently finished reading The Big Book from Alcoholics Anonymous and I only wish I’d read it a long time ago. There is so much wisdom and so many revelations in its pages that anyone suffering from alcoholism or addiction will instantly benefit from reading it. The 12 steps, plus all the stories of how the founding members came to discover the method, all help to make the book an interesting and riveting read. What I found most appealing were the messages of hope and encouragement. There is a part of me that is a little envious of those who can point to the 12-Step Alcoholics Anonymous program as the reason for their sobriety. The camaraderie and support they provide each other through their shared suffering is legendary.
I can highly recommend The Big Book to anyone suffering from alcoholism or anyone taking care of an alcoholic.
Have a great weekend and please remember to be generous! 😄
As always, thanks for reading. 🙏
To receive #MyFridayStory every week, please join any Tribe below:
