Phil's story for Alcohol Awareness Week
This Alcohol Awareness Week, Phil has shared his obstacles with alcohol and how he overcame his addiction with support from Change Grow Live in Birmingham. Phil now works as a Recovery Coordinator helping people overcome their addiction to lead happier and healthier lives.
Phil began his recovery journey with us after being taken to his local GP by a close friend. At the time, Phil was in denial about how severe his addiction to alcohol had become and the full effect it was having upon his health and his life. Phil experienced breathlessness, difficulty walking, blackouts, issues with eating - and a complete disassociation between night and day. With the problems at work, a number of personal issues and self-imposed isolation from loved ones, the GP described Phil’s situation as the “perfect storm’’ that led to his alcohol problems. He immediately referred Phil to our service.
Starting his journey to recovery
Phil’s first interaction with our service was a reassuring and helpful call on the phone with our tele-triage team. This was the first time Phil had spoken to someone in detail about his addiction. Phil was able to talk through his plan and goals with a “fantastic” and “understanding” Recovery Coordinator. In March 2016, Phil entered Park House for detox and was surprised at how welcoming everyone was.
The support from my peers was incredibly important and made a huge difference in my recovery.
After his detox at Park House, Phil entered the Day Programme to support his ongoing recovery. The Day Programme is a 12-week course that supports people building their recovery capital and maintaining abstinence. Phil still believes to this day that the programmes team were instrumental to his recovery -he states that they are excellent and save so many lives.
Next steps after detox
Coming to the end of the Day Programme, Phil decided he wanted to give back to the service and support more people into recovery. Phil volunteered his time by becoming a peer mentor and service user representative – duties included engaging with service users undergoing detox at Park House and providing feedback to management and staff. These roles helped boost Phil’s confidence and self-esteem and allowed his voice to be heard by the service.
During this time, Phil took two Intuitive Thinking courses which boosted his confidence over being in recovery and also about his future employability. This was the push Phil needed to start applying for jobs. Phil secured a job as a recovery support worker but nearly 6 months later, jumped at the opportunity to join us as an engagement worker. Phil has now been with the service for around 4 years and is now enjoying supporting people overcome their barriers with alcohol. He has developed new interests outside and of work and has been regularly attending art classes for three years. He has also been involved in the art group for service users.
The role of a Recovery Coordinator is very rewarding and I find that my experience helps me to identify things within my client’s recovery.
Reflecting on his journey
Next year, Phil will be 6-years abstinent from alcohol, a huge achievement. Phil’s relationship with his family and friends has improved and said “the best thank you they could get is my recovery”. Phil continues to work for us supporting people every day to overcome their addictions.
Addiction comes from nowhere. People carry a huge sense of shame and feel the need to justify why they are in this situation. I like to remind my clients that no one chooses to have a problem with alcohol.
Phil's advice
Phil has given us some top tips to support you or someone you know on their recovery journey:
- Take the support from your family and friends. They are an important part of your journey and want to help you. Don’t feel that you have to tackle this on your own.
- Actively attend your appointments at Change Grow Live and get involved with group sessions. Keep an open mind and fully consider the advice of professionals.
- Look back at what you used to enjoy before addiction as this will give you direction. Have a think about all those things that you always wanted to do – and try to make them happen.