The DU Lounge

I was a tee-totaler until my 30s. I took a promotion where I started traveling lots and going to steakhouse dinners with suppliers where we met for cocktails before and after dinner. Rather than sitting in my hotel room, I’d go to the bar. On most of my flights, I’d get upgraded to first class where I’d get my pre-departure drink and multiple in-flight ones. Drinking became a way of life for me on the road. Then, I began needing it at home. At my worst, I was going through 2-3 jugs of Titos vodka a week. My wife began riding me like a dime store pony over it. I increasingly didnt feel well, and many mornings, I’d wake up with no memory of the evening before. Blacking out like that was very unsettling.

One night in an an effort to get my wife off my ass about my drinking, I told her I’d get counseling. It took me six months to get that started since I wasnt in the biggest hurry! For almost three years, meeting one hour nearly weekly (@ $125 per!), I gradually eliminated alcohol from my life.

I credit my Christian faith as much as the counseling in helping me get straightened out. I met frequently with another man who had gone through the same journey. He’s now my best friend. I had relapses along the way, and he went through the same. He never judged but would encourage me to hang in there. No doubt, I wouldnt have made it without him. I’m now doing the same for a 37 year old man in my church, although I came along to late to help him with his marriage. He’s still relapsing too much, but I’m not giving up on him.

You will never hear me judge people who find themselves in substance abuse. I wasnt always that way.