Counselling
 

I haven't posted for a while.

Another Monday morning " it's all going change/never again/ that's me finished etc etc". But this Mon morning, for the first time, I phoned and arranged counselling. The service have agreed to provide telephone counselling because I have anxieties about anonymity, mainly because of my job.

I am not sure what I will gain from/ am hoping for from counselling, I just feel I need to try again and try something different.

Yesterday, I got news of a childhood friend who is gravely ill. My oldest friend died in April. Neither of these illnesses were alcohol related. I have a body that could be healthy and I am screwing it up. I have a duty to myself and my family to stop this.

What have others gained from alcohol counselling?

Hey Carly

I have weekly sessions with a psychologist. I found these sessions to be very useful in giving me the tools to deal with emotional distress. As well, to be able to have a face to face discussion in a safe environment where you can be completely honest and upfront. The sessions deal with deeper issues than alcohol as drinking is more of an outcome for me.

I hope you do find the counselling sessions useful.

I never went for alcohol counselling but I gained a lot of insight from counselling over the years.

It's just good to have someone to listen and to bounce things off of, and to get some expert feedback.

Sounds like a good step forward Carlygirl.

Hi Carly, I find that taking action like you did today helps me feel like I am doing something about my recovery. Asking for help is hard for a lot of us, but it's really really hard to do this alone. I find that counseling makes sure I keep the important issues in the foreground. Early sobriety has been a pretty wild wide for me...there are things that are coming up for me out of nowhere. My guess is a lot of these things were the reasons I drank. The issues themselves are a lot less formidable in the daylight, especially now that I am not hungover. Congratulations on taking an important step! :)

It sounds like you are ready this time Carly. I hope the counselling will help relieve some of your anxiety. Glad you've taken this big step and are trying something new. Let us know how it goes. :)

I've been going to a counselor since 2008. It was a condition of being sent to rehab for free by our local substance abuse agency. At first (I was still drinking) I was quite arrogant and resented having to come there. As I got sober, and then eventually stayed sober, I've come to really value my time with my counselor. She has helped me so much. I don't go as often now as I used to, now that I'm nearly four years sober, but it helps to see her once a month to vent and get suggestions.

I can't say enough good about having a good counselor.:)

Carly: My experience with counseling was over a period of 40 years. At times it was very helpful but I finally learned that, at least for me, it was not sufficient to maintain long term sobriety. I kept relapsing. That stopped only when I was able to get into a program which brought me in contact with others in recovery. I joined an AA agnostics group, although I am not an agnostic or atheist, and that group helped me with some of the issues which I found I had with conventional AA. This seemed to work for me and I have not had a drink for 25 years. I can't speak for others, only for myself.
Counseling can be extremely helpful. It all depends on the counselor and the relationship between counselor and patient. If you find a good counselor then that would be very helpful. Perhaps some arrangement can be made so that you don't have to rely on telephone counseling to preserve anonymity. I'd also advise a program which enabled you to associate with other persons in recovery.

W.

I found therapy helpful early on. Since discovering CBT I solve most issues on my own through inner dialogue.