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Sober Talk SA - Jo D · Sober Talk SA

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  Welcome to Sober Talk. I'm Dennis and I've lived
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  experience of alcohol. If you or anyone you know is
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  struggling with alcohol, please call Alcoholics Anonymous on
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  1300 double 22222 or check out their website on aa.org dot AU.
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  I'll just run through the preamble of Alcoholics
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  Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous is a
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  fellowship of men and women. We share the experience,
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  strength and hope with each other.
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  They must solve their come problems and help others to
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  recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for
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  membership is a desire to stop drinking.
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  There are no Jews at fees for a membership.
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  We are self support through our own contributions.
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  Is not allied with any SEC denomination, politics,
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  organization or institution. Does not wish to engage in any
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  controversy, neither endorses or oppose any causes.
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  Our primary purpose is stairs, soap and help other Alcoholics
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  achieve sobriety. I'm Joan.
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  I'm an alcoholic. I came to Australia when I was
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  about 37 and to Melbourne and Blakely, water frails and like
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  sponsors. And within the first week I
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  booked up a seat on the other land when he came to Adelaide
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  and for from our friends, because they were and neighbors
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  as well and they they said that you'd seen the wineries down
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  there for half fun Now anyone. That one, which I don't drink,
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  though, he said, look, look at what we've got.
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  And he put all these blackens on their breakfast bar and I sit at
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  all of them and I didn't like them.
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  But then the last one, the last one I said was rather nice.
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  And then to be great, the Venus. And I I thought, take a look
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  into it. And I don't remember much about
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  the evening, but I and remember that I was taking photographs
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  now. The camera had bulbs on it and
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  the next one I'd already burned my for it.
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  But it was a good good, you know, and social eating, I
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  suppose. And I've stayed with them for a
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  couple of days And then I went back and said Melpin and I found
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  what the what the Francine I that's open up.
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  I quite liked it and I quite liked it and I quite liked it
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  and and it carried on from there really.
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  I became a puppet twinkle, a streak of a twinker and I rather
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  enjoyed that and with that I was so became very homesick and very
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  emotional and but I had a friend now I what I call my friend was
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  Bo and so I just drank because it made me talk.
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  Well it made me make me feel that I wasn't quite alone
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  anymore and only I just carried on drinking.
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  I had no idea what I was becoming or what was happening.
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  I just drank as I used to like to play Barry White Records and
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  I suppose just all your imagination goes wild and play
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  parody, write and cry and drink. And then I decided that I'd had
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  enough of up there and I got my 2 girls in the car and I drove
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  down here to Adelaide and I I really don't know why I did it
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  and I didn't even find out why I did it.
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  But thing is I arrived here in Adelaide State with these
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  friends they've got the Queen and yeah and that the miles and
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  follows couple of days later and it was got stop oh OK And yes.
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  So we got house down here and they didn't stop me drinking.
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  I put it on my dragon under the sink and that's where it stays.
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  And we had to live where there was some sheep and I sort of
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  took a lock into the sheep and they took a lock into me.
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  And I seem to spend a lot of time over there when I had a few
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  to drink. I don't know why I just felt so
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  eat all them and we went on the holiday up on the Maori with the
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  part of other people with Martha's benign to other couples
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  and I don't know why or some time that I'd spoken out of
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  place nobody was talking to me and and the last the day before
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  we left I it was a raining day and I went for a walk in the
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  tower of Madam and I'd had a few quite a few.
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  And I thought these stairs going up and I thought I and I was
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  feeling so sorry for myself oh I was I was drunk and I went up
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  the stairs. Now I had this idea in my head
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  that if I die up there be there for that.
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  They drove me to it. Well that's as far as I've got.
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  I sat there and it was raining and and that night time we went
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  all went out to to a restaurant and I don't know what happened
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  there because I landed up in hospital.
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  They, yes wife, took me to hospital and they wanted to keep
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  me in, not not calm. My husband's having an affair
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  and that's I had to be back at the boat.
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  And the reason why is because my drink, it became all focused
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  about my being and I caused another row when we got back.
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  I don't know why. It was all their fault.
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  And the next day we come home and nobody spoke to me.
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  And when I fought the army got home.
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  First thing I did was went tight to the sink.
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  I knew my bottle was under there.
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  My flagon, 25 flagons and that's that was it.
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  You know I went to put the telly on and there was Donald.
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  You talking to Carol Channing about alcohol and what it does,
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  and about Alcoholics Anonymous and what?
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  I don't really want to listen to all that rubbish.
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  And I just sat there because I had some message to open.
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  So I just carried on drinking and then I turned the Tili back
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  on again and that would Alcoholics Anonymous came up
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  again. Then I was on holiday from from
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  Worker and Har was feeling very ill, very sick, and I thought I
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  really ought to go to the doctor's side, owned up and I
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  had an appointment to see him. And the next morning I went to
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  get out of bed and my legs slapped somebody.
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  I couldn't walk, I couldn't walk and now I called out John help
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  me and he said he could bloody help me, in other words.
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  And we went out the door. It was about 6:00 in the morning
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  because me always started work early and I just laid the climb
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  screaming, oh God help me, help me now.
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  And I I I don't know how I did it.
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  I crawled. I don't remember.
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  It is a lot because I mean, I woke up, I was quite normal.
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  I might have been hungover, but I was normal.
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  And I got to the home, which was in the middle bedroom, and I
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  dialed Alcoholics Anonymous. I don't know why.
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  To this day, I don't know why, because I didn't understand what
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  Alcoholics Anonymous was. And that that was the start of
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  something bigger than than myself, bigger than anything
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  else that I'd ever done. I asked for help and I I got it.
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  I've got two people come up to see me and they're both
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  Scottish, which I've never, never in my life spoken to
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  Scottish people because I come from Brighton and they are in
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  Scotland and you don't come to people.
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  The other father London's I've Out was pulled up and they come
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  up and make sense that you believe in the power.
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  Well, by this time I believe that anything because I just
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  wanted help, I needed help. And because I've been surviving
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  on randomly no steep entails and antibiotics for three weeks by
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  then and I needed help. I just.
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  I couldn't stop crying. I couldn't my whole life with a
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  mess, I I'd screwed everything up.
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  I've. I think if there'd been a gun
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  hat there I would have shot myself.
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  I was so sick and I couldn't walk.
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  That had to be some kind of help and I don't know how long I was
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  on the floor for and I don't remember much about the day
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  because I'd cried so much and these two men come up as I said
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  they I don't know what they said really.
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  But to the next day they came up and remember that's a labing in
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  I went to a meeting at Hillcrest Hospitals and I'd go you know
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  there was about 150 people up there and I I didn't understand
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  a lot of fact I didn't understand much at all except
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  the greatest thing was I'm my husband picked up a a drink that
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  day I was shaking my head was banging I was I was rattling I
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  couldn't look properly but I went I went and I I was funny
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  thing in the car they all seemed very happy and I thought I'm in
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  the I'm in the wrong place. I I I know where I was really.
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  I didn't understand a lot I was staying mixed up and afterwards
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  the meeting I'll never forget Lady command programmed around
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  me and she said it will get better and my love she said it
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  will get better if you don't pick up that first drink.
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  I kept hearing this don't pick up first drink and it's so stuck
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  in my mind and I I thought these people always seem that they
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  know me and I didn't understand what was happening and the next
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  day I I lady that come up she she lived down the road and I
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  went down to see her and we talked but we didn't talk about
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  alcoholism we talked about our animals because I've got 9 cats
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  and she had three and the lucky lovely lady and and for me to be
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  able to talk to someone about my problems it was wonderful
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  absolutely wonderful. And then on the Sunday I went to
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  the anniversary meeting and I met quite a few people and it
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  was people talk to this it's that no and I I've been without
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  friendship for so long. I'd isolate myself with my drink
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  for so long and I just, just loved it.
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  I just loved it it. No one was laughing anything
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  down by her about anything and they just seemed to care and
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  they were laughing and I I just thought these meetings were
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  something that I've never experienced before and I just
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  loved it. And I went, went to quite a few
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  meetings at the beginning, you know, my young daughter, she she
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  had a horse and used to come down to the Pony Club when I was
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  thinking and I'd sit there drinking in the in the car while
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  she was doing that thing with a horse.
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  Yeah, now I'd stop drinking. I'd got out out the car and now
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  walking around and I've got talking to few people and in
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  that sort time that I did that I've got talking to a husband
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  who said about saying that this place needs somewhere up to
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  coffee and something to eat for the riders and every parents.
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  And cut the Long story short he managed to get a whole flow.
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  We we did it up and we served tea, coffee and muffins and
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  things like that and I was getting really involved in that.
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  I and I wasn't drinking, you see, I wasn't drinking stuff.
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  I was thinking straight and I I I felt as if I was involved in
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  it was marvelous. And then they had their the
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  Australia Day awards and then I went along there and with my
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  daughter and you know, thinking but not not really thinking, but
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  just enjoying being sober, I suppose tipping nine months,
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  nine months. And what happened was they're
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  sitting there and they called out my name and this bloke's
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  name and we both the award of services to the community.
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  And I've got a medal. I've got a medal and a
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  certificate and and I was asked to speak, which I couldn't.
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  I was so taken back and that I went out the back and I cried my
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  eyes out and I thought a a works doesn't it worked.
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  It worked. I was thinking God you know and
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  I was so excited and and my daughter was so proud of me and
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  I was proud of myself and that that's how it it really started
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  to me that getting involved in all this it was just run for and
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  I I just starts to get better and better and and I saw things
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  in a different light and I I had choices.
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  I had choices I've never had choice a choice before the
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  choice of saying yes and saying no and and to pick up a drink it
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  would be the last thing on my mind.
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  I'm not saying there were times and I wanted to, but I didn't
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  because I got myself involved. Bit with AI and I I still got in
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  this sort of involved. That was well, why?
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  Because there's nobody to say you can't do it.
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  You you can do it. You know, all my life you can't
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  do this, you can't do that. But in AI you can do it.
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  You can do things that you've always wanted to do.
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  And so I I helped in in the kitchen, in the cants and
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  enjoyed all that, that that that was wonderful.
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  And I did that for a few years. And I I I just from the age of
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  when I was 37 I didn't drink and now I was a lot older.
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  I've learned so much. I've been reeducated in the way
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  that I think the way that I do things.
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  I have a purpose in life and I've I've been educated.
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  I've been educated and I I just think that I was meant to think
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  you know, I reckon this power greater than ourselves.
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  That right. She's a good candidate to to put
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  in AI because she's got nothing else better to do.
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  I had, I needed, I needed that structure.
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  I needed that that companionship.
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  I needed love which I get from the the fellowship and and
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  that's what it's all about. It's love.
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  What you can give, what you've been given, you can give back.
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  And I've loved every minute of it and I'm much older person now
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  and he'll be 39 half years without a drink.
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  And I'm so proud of myself. I'm proud of my power, greater
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  than myself and and and the people in AI who gave me that
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  love and gave me encouragement just to be able to do things,
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  which is wonderful. There's no bosses in AI, no
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  bosses at all. They're just lovely, uppy people
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  and I just, I would miss them out of my life.
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  That's it. Thank you.
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  Thank you. Good on your job.
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  Well said. Excellent share.
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  Very good. We have local meetings for the
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  full week in the local area. Monday is Gala meeting at 8:00,
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  Tuesday is Elizabeth E at 8:00, Wednesday is Elizabeth E at
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  8:00, Thursday is 2 Wells at 8:00, and Friday is Salisbury at
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  8:00. There's a meeting at Devron Park
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  at 12:00 and on Sunday there's a meeting in Salisbury at 7:00 and
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  many of the meetings in the area.
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  For details of your local meetings, please phone 1300
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  double 22222. And once again, if anyone you
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  know is struggling with alcohol issues, please call Alcoholics
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  Anonymous on 1300 double 22222, the website isaasa.org dot AU.