Woman's story inspires alcoholics

NAGPUR: More than 80 families in Nagpur got a ray of hope recently as they heard how an ordinary housewife had succeeded in de-addicting her husband, who had been an alcoholic for 15 long years.
The woman, who gave a stunning speech at the recent gathering of Alcoholics Anonymous (Alanon) -a worldwide support group for families of alcoholics-said that she had convinced her husband to accept his problem and show willingness to break the vicious cycle."The entire family was behind him and we got great support and help from Alanon and the techniques taught by them," she stated.
There were some more families who exchanged views on how they were working towards de-addicting a son or a father or a husband back home. "It was a great experience to be part of the meeting which took place at New English high school in Mahal recently," said one of the participants. The families mainly comprised worried housewives and concerned parents from Nagpur.
Members spoke on various aspects, including recovery for the family members who suffer excessively from emotional problems, stress, depression, isolation and loneliness.
However, the answer lies in managing these with a positive attitude towards life, said the member. Another concerned member said, "There is treatment and arresting the disease is possible, but it is not possible to remove it altogether. Every treatment involves the family in the recovery of an alcoholic. Let us remember that we are dealing with a lifelong disorder. There can be no lowering of guard and so the family too needs to deal with the stresses and strains of having to live with the continuous uncertainty of the disease in Alanon."
(Alanon meetings are held regularly at many places in Nagpur, namely SFS Parish House, Dharampeth Kanya Shala, New English High School, and Jupiter School, Khamla)