Jane's sobering tale
Like most people, Jane (not her real name) had her first experience of alcohol at school parties. Occasionally, she overdid it, but drinking didn't become a regular habit until her early 20s when she got her first job.
'I met somebody at work, and most evenings we'd go to a bar on the way home,' she says. 'I really liked the way alcohol boosted my confidence and helped me lose my inhibitions.'
At the start, Jane would have just a couple of glasses of wine and call it a night. Soon, that wasn't enough.
'I started having wine with our dinner as well, and then maybe a shot after dinner,' she says. 'After I got married, my husband and I made our own wine at home. He had a greater tolerance than me, so I drank too much trying to keep up with him.'
As her body became more tolerant, Jane had to drink more and more to get the desired effect. In her mid-20s, it all got out of control.
'It was only after about four glasses of wine that I'd start to feel anything at all,' she says. 'Something would change in my head, and after that I couldn't stop.'
Jane did most of her drinking at home, because she didn't want people to know how bad she was. But when she did go out, she became loud and embarrassing and behaved inappropriately.
'People would look at me in a funny way the next day, and it was terrifying, because I had no idea what I'd done,' she says. 'I lost most of my friends by offending them in some way.'
Although Jane managed to keep her job and her marriage, she realises now that it must have been touch and go.
'My judgment was really warped. For instance, I thought it was a great idea to take a cushion to work so I could sleep off the booze on the floor,' she says.
The turning point finally came when Jane was 35. 'There was no drink in the flat one day, so I decided to go out. Six hours went by, and I still can't remember anything.
'The next day I couldn't get out of bed, but the following morning I decided enough was enough. I went to Alcoholics Anonymous and I've been sober ever since. People have said, go on, one won't hurt. But for me, that's not the case.'
