Replies to '08/18 "Sober Up or Else!"'

Hey Deb.  You hang in there girlfriend! The first step is knowing that a problem exists.  I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers!  ( I have 3 boys too!).

Donna

You can do it if you want to, BUT YOU HAVE TO WANT TO, you have to d0 IT FOR YOU, not for your husband  or kids, but  YOU.

Look , been there done that, NO ONE will "INSPIRE" you,  YOU  have to WANT IT.

I hope you can see youself  HONESTY, you can admit a PROBLEM, WONDERFUL, first  step, GO WITH IT, and follow the steps.

You need to do somethingNOW! Do you want people to only remember you as a drunk? Though my mother probably had many good qualities, I only remember the drinking. I am scarred forever, my personaliy reflects  an alcoholic past. You cannot like yourself this way.................you are weak, you need to be stronger and wake up w/out that hazy feeling. I could go on and on. I am sorry that I disrespect you. I feel alcohol is one of the worst drugs ever, do not justify its use because it is legal. There is a monster in that bottle---you!

I am a grateful recovered alcoholic.  I am in my 5th year of sobriety.  I loved this show, it really told it like it really is.  It did no good for anyone else to inspire me, help me or to encourage me.  It had to come down to the fact that I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, but I had to put some action behind it.  Many nights I would promise and pray that I would not take another drink, all to no avail until I finally started doing something for myself and stop thinking the world had done me wrong and that it owed me something.  I drank for a little over 20 years, burned a lot of bridges, blew a lot of opportunities and hurt a lot of people; but I'm here to tell you life is good today.  It all started by my realizing that I can't do this alone.  I didn't get sober by myself and I don't stay sober by myself.  I know alcoholism is a disease and with all diseases, I must seek treatment everyday of my life, thanks to my sobriety I really have a life today.  The help is out that, if we want it and are willing to do what it takes to receive it and keep it.  God bless all our families that have had to put up with us and God bless anyone that has this terrible disease.

On July 20th, 2007 my youngest brother Patrick ended his life by comsuming 10 bottles of vodka and 5 cases of beer in a two week period. He was 39 and left behind a 14 year old daughter. He was an alcoholic thanks to my mother who started him drinking when he was 13.  My mother and the girl he lived with the last two years of his life babied him and enabled him. I tried my damnest to get him help, to keep him sober but felt like I was beating my head against the wall. Wednesday will be 7 months since his death and I live day in and day out beating myself up because I did not do enough to keep him alive or to make him stop.  You may have seen your 44th birthday today but if you keep going down the road you are, you will not see your 45th birthday. Like my niece now who is without her dad, your kids will be without their mother. They will only be able to see your headstone. More than anything, think about what your kids are going through. If you think your alcoholism does not affect your kids, think again. The five of us kids lived with an alcoholic mother and sadly four of us had to bury our youngest brother. Believe me when I say this, it has been the worst 7 months of my life. I wish I could have one more minute with Patrick, I wish I could have told him one more time I loved him, I wish he were here today. If you love your kids, put the bottle down and get help NOW!!!!! They do not deserve to watch you destroy their lives because of alcohol.

Deb K. --missing my brother so much every second of the day

I AM A PRODUCT OF LIVING WITH AN ALCOHOLIC MOTHER AND WHILE I HAVE EMPATHY FOR YOU TO A POINT, YOU NEED TO FIND A REASON TO "INSPIRE" YOURSELF AND I CAN ONLY SHARE WITH YOU THAT IF YOUR THREE SONS AREN'T INSPIRATION ENOUGH FOR YOU WHAT ELSE WILL BE?  PLEASE...PLEASE ASK GOD FOR HELP AND HE WILL HELP YOU.  REMEMBER, THAT YOUR THREE SONS ARE SUFFERING.  MY PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY. BE BLESSED.....