andisa

You got the best advice here already. Everything will improve for you after you stop the distorting effects of alcohol. It's true! Likely that act alone will clear your head so you can see that the best way to live is honestly. It matters not what anyone else thinks of you. You live according to the standards you set for yourself, and if you do that, you'll find things start falling into place. It's when we deceive ourselves that troubles creep in.

I, too, live in a small town. Went through treatment 5 years ago, I thought anonymously. A few months later one of the people who was in the same program as me married that farmer's daughter! So you KNOW the whole ultra-conservative neigborhood knows about my drug addiction. And yet, they all talk with me and seem to have solid respect for me. I live a good life, according to the standards I set for myself. That goes a long way.

hypochondriac

Hey DesperadoBlond, sorry you had a bad doctor experience...I've had lots of those so I can relate. It can really put a downer on a good effort to get help. I thought I had no joy left in my life and constantly woke up surprised to be alive. Since quitting though things have got a lot better. It takes time and work but it's so worth it. SR helped me more than my doctors

DesperadoBlond

So, today I feel a little better. And haven't had anything to drink.

A superior, from the hospital I went to yesterday, called me today and wanted to talk about what happened. The concerned nurse I spoke to yesterday, on my way out, had alerted her boss.

Basically the superior says the doctor had omitted even writing that he had met me, on my file. And he just moved my my country from somewhere far away...

So either way, they are now trying to refer me to a shrink, which is what I think I really need. These days I have mostly been drinking because I can't handle my emotions. I've known for years that I need to follow through these issues with a shrink and now I am going to do it. It'll take me like 2 months to get my first appointment.... but I am back on track and I will do my damndest not to drink anymore. Thanks for all the feedback and sorry I sounded like such a victim!

Anna

Hi and Welcome!

I'm glad that you complained to the drs office and that they followed it up and helped you out. I think talking to a psychiatrist could be very helpful for you. Stopping drinking is the first step, but we usually have a lot of underlying issues that we need to deal with if we are going to recover and live well.

It's too bad you have to wait two months, but you can focus on staying sober and you will find lots of support here.

Dee74

I'm really glad you complained too DB...sadly not all Drs are good at what they do and not all doctors know a great deal about alcoholism or addiction - they are out there tho.

Please don't let this one bad experience colour your attitude to getting help

I used to worry about being known as the town alcoholic too - so I didn't get help, kept drinking, got worse...and became known as the town alcoholic

Don't let that happen to you.

There's many different approaches and methods of recovery around - here's some links to some of the main players:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

Many recovery groups now have an online presence with online meetings and support.
Rational Recovery has no meetings at all and is book based.

I recommend you visit the Secular Connections forum if you think you might be interested in a non 12 step approach.

DesperadoBlond

Dee,

Goodness gracious - you just made me look at it all from a very different perspective. No, I shouldn't let that happen to me when there are choices.

Thanks for the reading and recovery tips. I will explore them since up to now I only know about AA really.