I Am Not An Alcoholic

I Am Not an Alcoholic: Some friends are distancing themselves from me. It hurts, but there is nothing I can do about it

Part 21: A lot more people know who is writing these articles, and I have mixed feelings about this

Wed Oct 30 2024 - 05:31

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘When I stopped drinking, others were not as excited as I was to finally escape the box’

Part 20: ‘Becoming a non-drinker changes you, or, at least, it changed me’

Mon Aug 05 2024 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘I would like a non-alcoholic Guinness,’ says the man. ‘Do you want a colouring book and crayons as well?’

Part 19: Often humour is used to camouflage our inner feelings – our fears and anxiety can be assuaged by humour

Tue Jun 04 2024 - 06:33

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘I made a two-week return visit to rehab’

Part 18: ‘Even though I hadn’t relapsed, I felt as if needing help was shameful’

Mon Apr 01 2024 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Being alone in Paris, who was to know if I had a glass? But that was the problem, wasn’t it?’

Part 17: Although most people in the cafe are drinking coffee like me, some are having absinthe in between sips of coffee. It is 9.30am. How do they do that?

Tue Feb 27 2024 - 05:31

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘I had a master’s degree in hiding my dependency on alcohol’

Part 16: She’ll think I’m sick if I don’t have a glass of wine. In fact, I was sick when I was having glasses of wine

Tue Jan 23 2024 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘I turn away, red-faced. I could not hate myself more’

Part 15: This is my third Christmas without alcohol. You’d think I’d be used to it - it doesn’t work like that. Every day is a challenge, and I must be aware that alcohol is forbidden to me

Tue Dec 19 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Abstinence has brought power back into my life’

Part 14: I have discovered who I am. I question a lot of things; things I accepted willingly before

Mon Nov 20 2023 - 05:31

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Despite drinking so much sparkling water, I lost my sparkle before the end of the meal’

Part 13: The novelty of being sober is long gone

Sun Sept 17 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: A misguided joke reminded me of how difficult it is to stop drinking in Ireland

Part 12: Can you imagine the looks I would get if people saw me drinking a glass of wine?

Tue Aug 15 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘You haven’t had a drink in 11 months. Go on, you deserve it’

Part 11: Life is not always going to go as planned and if we can accept this then maybe we can handle the suffering when it comes

Tue Jul 18 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Wine is a socially acceptable and sophisticated aid to combat life’s little horrors’

Part 10: I recently read that observing clouds in the sky is very good for our mental health. I thought it was just me who found it so calming

Tue Jun 20 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Lying in an alley clutching a bottle in a brown paper bag doesn’t have to be your wake-up call’

Part nine: I am wondering if I should perhaps try AA again. It might be a different experience when I’ve had several months’ sobriety. We’ll see

Tue May 16 2023 - 05:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Could the floor please open up and swallow me?’

Part eight: The next time an opportunity to travel comes along, maybe I can enjoy a little of the anticipation

Tue Apr 18 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: I should look away, but my eye is stuck on the wine flowing into the glass

Part seven: I was anxious going away with my wine-loving friend but I felt accomplished stepping off the plane home sober

Tue Mar 21 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘Will you regret taking this drink?’ Yes. ‘Will it make you feel better?’ Yes

Part six: The longer I am sober, the more incentive I have to stay sober. Do I want to throw that away?

Tue Feb 21 2023 - 05:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘After the AA meeting a man had the temerity to tell me that I wasn’t being honest’

Part five: I am in the middle of a family crisis. Not to take a drink requires a discipline I would compare to the training of Olympian athletes

Tue Jan 24 2023 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: I’ve stopped drinking nine bottles a week. But I’m still frightened

Part four: I hate to dash other drinkers’ hopes of quitting, but this isn’t getting easier yet

Tue Dec 20 2022 - 06:01

I Am Not An Alcoholic: ‘A fellow rehab patient filled a cup with hand sanitiser and drank it’

Part three: I joked with her about cleansing her soul and asked if she had tried confession

Tue Nov 08 2022 - 06:01

I Am Not an Alcoholic: ‘The number of times I told myself I would stop at three glasses’

Just a handful of people knew I was in rehab, partly because of my fear of failure. What if I fall off the wagon?

Tue Oct 18 2022 - 06:01

I shocked myself when, one morning at a meeting, I spoke about my terrible temper

Mon Sept 26 2022 - 05:31