Letter

Written by: Molly Anonymous

Sobriety is an essential aspect of life. It protects the delicate chemistry associated with decision making and is synonymous with the concept of management; especially in situations that could have otherwise gone worse. So many people are still suffering from the shackles of alcoholism and drug abuse and perhaps the best thing to do is continue writing about it. The impact of living a “carefree life” can be soul-damaging. Perhaps the majority of individuals don’t realize they are addicts until it is too late.

I am a living example of what alcohol and drug abuse can do to a once promising individual. At some point, even the small amount of money I was able to earn from my job was all spent on alcohol. I have made numerous egregious mistakes that could have otherwise been avoided had I been sober. I did not envision the considerable damage drug abuse had caused until it was too late and my family had walked away from me due to my poor standing in life.

It was destined then that I should follow in the path of my cousin, “Peter.” Growing up, I watched him, an alcoholic, struggling to raise a family in a way that resembled a drowning man carrying suitcases. It just appeared to be unbelievably difficult, and certainly unsustainable, because he had this huge family he couldn’t take care of, which may have been prevented by enrolling in a family planning program. Sometimes, I get ashamed because nobody ever thought that I would turn out the same way. The only difference is that instead of giving birth to a million kids, I got infected with several sexually transmitted diseases.

When I first started drinking I thought it was a one-time thing, but as I kept on going back to the bars for more booze, I eventually developed an addiction. For a long time, I lived in denial and would often bash out anyone who said that I was an alcoholic. I thought that drinking alcohol or consuming hard-drugs made my problems go away for a while. This was a coward’s school of thought – not being able to face my challenges head-on. Nothing ever changed much. I’d wake up in the morning with hangovers and spend most of the day nursing them.

I am a smart girl and should have understood the way alcohol has destroyed so many individuals and families. It is a worldwide menace that does not mitigate its prey. Neither does alcoholism spare the elite, many of whom are no match for this loaded dragon-spew of addiction fire. So many professionals like myself have ended up wasting their talent because they couldn’t control their consumption. It always starts with a bottle of beer and before you realize you’ll be clocking-in at a couple more bottles on the hour-daily. The problem gets worse when you make friends with other alcoholics whose lives revolve around booze. After some time, you can no longer make sound decisions and you may break the hearts of your loved ones.

After some soul searching, I resolved to be free again. I have used the term free because I believe that nobody was born with a predilection for drug and alcohol addiction. We only get here because of an undying urge for the wrong kinds of exploration.

My first step towards being free from the shackles of drug and alcohol abuse was accepting that I had a problem. The next step was to enroll in the nearest rehabilitation center to have nearby support with overcoming this menace. The hardest bit of this journey was to change my circle of friends. I often felt the urge of going back to my old habits, but my family came to my rescue and encouraged me to continue pushing on at a point when I had shown progress.

Though the journey has been tough, I can now see the fruits of sobriety. My colleagues at work are impressed with the baby steps that have made me alcohol-free. I can now attest that the key to good health and better work performance is staying away from any drug abuse. Viva!