John is in his 30s and found that he was trying to hold on to the lifestyle he had when he was in his teens and early 20s. He was out drinking with his friends every night in the local pub and out clubbing every weekend. Although others could recognise it, John didn't notice that when his friends were ready to go home, he wanted to stay out and drink some more. He was unable to hold down employment due to the amount of sick days he was taking and had had to move back in with his mum, who is also an alcoholic, as he was no longer able to pay the rent on his flat.

It was when John got in trouble with the police and was faced with a prison sentence that be became frightened of his actions when he had a drink, as he could now see the difference in himself.

How Linwood Park helped

Although John had not been ordered to attend treatment for his alcohol problem by his probation officer, he decided that this was the best action to take. He wasn't convinced that he wanted to be abstinent or that he couldn't control his alcohol intake in time. For the first few weeks John remained very quiet in group, he had little to say and the information he reluctantly did give about himself had to be teased out by the therapist. After around 3 weeks however, John started to feel more confident and started to trust the group process and began opening up. He completed his treatment and left the programme having been sober for 6 weeks.

Life after Linwood Park

Shortly after leaving treatment, John became complacent and had thoughts that maybe he could just have one drink and stop at that. He tested this theory and found that it wasn't possible for him to do this. He had a relapse that lasted 2 weeks but during this time he made contact with the staff at Linwood Park and attended aftercare. he was honest about not being sure about whether or not he wanted to stop drinking and the staff worked with him on this. Since this time, John has realised that in order to have the things he wants in life, he must remain sober. John has worked hard to do this and has just completed a work based training course and has been offered a new flat by the council. He is attending after care weekly and is able to offer support to others in the group who are still experiencing ambivalence towards sobriety.

Mohammed is in his late 20s and has experienced many changes in his family situation and bereavements that have left him feeling disconnected and with attachment issues. Mohammed found that the more he drank, the less he felt.  Mohammed has a full time job and thankfully, although his employer had noticed that he had a problem with alcohol, he was very supportive and when he found out that Mohammed was on a recovery programme that ran in the afternoons, he worked his shifts around it so that he could attend.

How Linwood Park helped

During his time at Linwood Park Mohammed opened up about cultural, attachment, bereavement, loneliness and a multitude of other issues that he felt were standing in the way of his recovery. However, Mohammed attended the group every day and because of his ability to ask for help from the staff and the other clients, he was able to work through these issues one by one and eventually left the treatment programme, 30 days later, having remained abstinent for the full 6 weeks

Life after Linwood Park

Mohammed returned to work and is still there.  He has since received a pay rise because his productivity levels have increased and his manager was so impressed with his determination and dedication.  Mohammed attends aftercare whenever he can, it is his shifts at work that would usually stop him.  He also attends 2 other non-statutory alcohol agencies on a weekly basis and knows that he needs to continue to work on his sobriety as once his old behaviours and thoughts start creeping back in, he is in danger of relapse and he is determined not to return there.

Peter had been drinking heavily for around 15 years.  He worked in the entertainment industry so alcohol was often freely available.  Peter had many instances over the years that made him think that there was a problem with his drinking and at times he would act on these.  For example he once filled a whisky bottle with cold tea, so that when anyone offered to buy him a drink whilst he was at work, the bar tender would give him a measure from his bottle of cold tea.   However, Peter travelled around the country a lot with his work and found that as soon as he had a plan in place to cut down on his drinking, he would move and have to start all over again.  He knew that he needed to cut down on his drinking, but he felt powerless.

How Linwood Park helped

Peter decided to enter treatment as a result of his partner's death.  She had had an eating disorder and although he did everything he could to look after her, he couldn't help thinking that if he had been sober could he have done more and part of him blamed himself.  Peter picked up his last drink on the day of his partner's funeral and entered treatment 1 week later.  When he first came into treatment, Peter was distracted, agitated and looking for anything that he could get hold of and control.  Peter started to write everything down, as though he was taking minutes of his therapy.  Eventually Peter started to find his place within the group and was able to speak openly in his step 1 about all of the things that had led him to treatment.  This was a very emotional time for Peter but he persisted in working through his feelings and left the group sober and with the hope that he had a future.

Life after Linwood Park

Peter still writes everything down and carries three diaries with him wherever he goes, just so he feels in control and organised.  However, he has started to find his feelings of self worth again, he has been looking into volunteering at a local charity and still keeps in regular contact with others that he met in group.  He is managing his boundaries well and now realises that he doesn't have to be a ‘people pleaser' in order to be liked and appreciated.  Peter has been attending aftercare and also attends 3 other non statutory agencies that he was put in touch with by Linwood Park staff once his treatment with us had come to an end.

Simon started as a social drinker in his teens and had not noticed that his levels of drinking were steadily increasing and was unaware, until it was pointed out to him that he was now drinking daily, often from first thing in the morning.

Simon was hoping to move in with his girlfriend but their relationship was suffering as when Simon picked up a drink his personality would change and he would become nasty and very unpleasant to be around.  Simon was also putting off doing things that he had promised to do such as DIY and other chores and was letting his girlfriend and the rest of his family down on a regular basis.  Simon's girlfriend got to a point where she said she would leave him if he didn't stop drinking.

How Linwood Park helped

Simon entered treatment claiming that he found not drinking quite an easy task.  He was having very few withdrawal symptoms or cravings and became complacent.  Simon relapsed after a few weeks and at this point realised that when he re-entered treatment he would have to do some work on changing his thoughts and behaviours and that recovery was about more than just putting the alcohol down.  It would take hard work.  Simon was able to put in the work and found that his relationship with his girlfriend improved and they started talking again about moving in together and having holidays.  His relationship with his family improved and he started looking for work.  Simon was now enjoying his life and could attribute this to being sober.  Simon was able to complete the treatment programme with no other re-lapse events.

Life after Linwood Park

Since completing treatment, Simon has started to attend a training course that will improve his chances of gaining long term employment.  He has chosen not to attend AA but has looked again at the first 3 steps and on occasion attends NA.  He has started swimming daily and is looking after his health much better.  He has not yet moved in with his girlfriend but has remained sober for 5 months and is making progress towards achieving this goal.

Robert had been drinking at dangerous levels for many years.  He started as a social drinker and as his responsibilities at work grew, so did the amount he was drinking.  Robert hadn't realised that those around him had noticed how much he was drinking and he thought that he was doing a good job of hiding it.  Robert started needing a drink before work and felt as though he was able to judge the amount he drank to allow him to get through the day without having a hangover.  Soon however he found that he needed to drink in his lunch hour and this is when his employer stepped in.

Robert's employer approached him about his drinking and told him that if he admitted he had a problem and sought help then his job would be saved for him to return to at the end of his treatment.  However, if he denied he had a problem then he would be dismissed as of immediate effect.  Robert admitted to his employer that he had a problem and they were able to help him into treatment.

How Linwood Park helped

Robert's employer offered to pay for his treatment at the Linwood Group and he attended Linwood Park the following week.  Although Robert had admitted to his employer that he had a problem in order to save his job, he had not yet admitted it to himself and was unable to admit it to the group during his therapy.  It was only following a Liver Function test that he had whilst in treatment, where his results showed that his GGT were in the 3000's that he was able to see the damage that his drinking was doing.  At that point Robert was willing, through fear of his health, to admit that he had a problem and needed help.

Life after Linwood Park

Robert has since returned to work and has found that his employers kept to their word and have continued to support him in his recovery.  He was allowed to return to work doing light duties at first which helped him not to feel over whelmed and only returned to normal duties when he felt ready.  He has found that he no longer feels as though he fits in with the rest of the team as he chooses not to go to the pub with them and they have had problems understanding Robert's illness and how to support him.  Robert has found that the aftercare provided at the Linwood Group has been essential to him as he said that this is the place where he feels the most comfortable and understood.  Since receiving the results of his LFT Robert has not taken a single drink and has now been sober for 4 months.

Chloe was in her mid thirties and had a history of dysfunctional and abusive relationships with men.  Her last relationship ended with her partner being sent to prison for attacking her with a knife after they had both been drinking all night.  Chloe was well known on the local party scene and was seen by others to always be having a great time and everyone wanted to spend time drinking with her.  This was until her behaviour became more erratic, she started letting friends and family down and became an embarrassment to be around when she was drinking.  The number of blackout's that Chloe's was experiencing increased and this frightened her.

Chloe had a stressful, target driven, executive job where entertaining clients to gain business was expected of her.  She was very good at her job for the first few years but the cracks began to show when after a night of entertaining clients her colleagues could stop drinking and go home but Chloe wanted to stay out and carry on partying.  Her sick days increased and her performance levels dropped.  Chloe knew she had to resign before she was fired.

How Linwood Park helped

Chloe found out about Community Alcohol Service through her Probation Officer after she was arrested on a Drink Driving offence.  She knew at this point that she was putting not only her own life, but the lives of others a risk, as this was not the first time she had got behind the wheel of a car after drinking.  She felt lucky that she had been caught before she had the chance to kill anyone.

It took a few weeks and a few relapses before Chloe realised that in order to stay well she couldn't pick up even one drink.  Her withdrawals were becoming worse each time and she started to believe that if she continued to drink she would eventually end up killing herself.  Once Chloe realised this, the change in her attitude was immediately noticeable.  She was positive, supportive yet challenging to others in the group and demonstrated a real passion to change.

Life after Linwood Park

Chloe completed the 30 day treatment programme and is still attending the aftercare group.  She has started college and is studying to do a counselling certificate with the hope one day of becoming a counsellor.  She is still taking things one day at a time and has a whole new sober outlook on life.