Feb 19 2008
Dan’s Drinking Story
Dan was a successful real estate entrepreneur and business Broker. He was married to a wonderful woman who helped him attain the level of achievement he now enjoyed. Dan also had a son who looked up to him and was by all accounts going to be a very good athlete and could look forward to being scouted by some major league sports teams in the near future.
Everything appeared to be going Dan’s way except that he was drinking too much and he knew it. Because he worked for himself he could cover up his drinking problem pretty well but drinking on the job was becoming a problem. Entertaining clients and attending social functions, eating out a lot and visiting local businesses, many of them bars and restaurants, Dan found he was drinking more often. Worse yet he enjoyed it.
He was able to communicate better and was more confident in his abilities after a few drinks. He seemed to be more daring and creative with his ideas and he sensed his clients were motivated by his enthusiasm and lust for business.
He started keeping a flask in his briefcase for emergencies like when he was stressed out between appointments and needed a bit of a kick start to get through his schedule. He also kept a bottle in his desk to “toast his successes” but it became far more than that. His successes seemed to include having a positive client phone call, finishing up a nagging report etc.
Drinking at home became routine and Dan and his wife would normally have a drink to finish their day but more often now Dan was staying up late working and drinking in his office to catch up on paperwork. He was earning a great deal of money with his business but at what cost he thought. Still he did not want to stop drinking since it was becoming a stabilizing requirement in his life or so he thought. Too much drinking he knew but not yet giving him a reason to slow down.
Every Wednesday and Sunday Dan made a point of going to his son’s hockey games and always enjoyed rooting for his kid. He was thrilled with his boy’s skill and he never disappointed the old man! Lately however the other parents seemed to avoid Dan when he sat in the stands. This didn’t bother him because it made it easier to pour scotch from his flask into his coffee cup.
When His son’s coach came up to him after a game and told Dan he was being warned about drinking in the building by arena security. They didn’t want to ban him and asked the coach to speak to him about it confidentially. Dan accepted that warning and just drank in his car before, during and after the games until his son was ready to leave.
One night driving home from a game with his son beside him Dan suddenly realized he could barely see the road in front of him and by concentrating very hard managed to pull in his driveway relieved that they made it home safely. Dan noticed his son was crying as he left the car and entered the house. Sitting behind the wheel gripping it as though it was keeping him balanced Dan decided he would take it easy on the drinking as this was a wake up call for him. He went into the house to talk to his son.
When he was settled in with a drink he noticed he was alone and wondered where his wife and son were. His boy came into the room first and now Dan could see that he was angry. He told Dan that he didn’t want him coming to any more of his games because his team mates were hassling him about his old man always being drunk. He was tired of being embarrassed by him and wanted nothing more to do with him unless he stopped drinking. With those final excruciating words he left the house slamming the door behind him.
Dan’s wife came into the room and sat down near him and told him she heard about the frightening drive home and that they could not go on like they were. She was hearing from friends and clients that something seemed wrong with Dan and they suspected he was drinking. Dan was mortified! He really had no idea his drinking was as bad as this let alone peoples suspicion of him being a problem drinker.
Dan knew he was tipping it back a bit much lately but to have his son and wife confront him like they had and knowing that his peers were suspicious of him being an alcoholic was just too much to fathom. He made a conscious decision to get help quickly and promised his wife he would look at all his options before choosing a method of treatment. He realized everyone was right and that his drinking was starting to get out of control.
Dan made the decision to quit alcohol after looking into various treatment options and quitting was not easy. What made him decide to abstain from alcohol entirely rather than modify his drinking habits was remembering the look on his son’s face when he was given his ultimatum to quit drinking. That disappointment so evident on his boys face was something he could not live with.
Everyone has a reason to do something about their excessive drinking. Treatment options are ample and they vary from social network groups like Alcoholics Anonymous to in-patient rehabilitation programs and prescription medication treatment accompanied by confidential behavioral therapy. Whatever your choice of treatment is it’s worth it to get your life back.
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