“My Biggest Regret About Drinking”
Dawn is 62 and has been drinking since the age of 13. She has no illusions about the hold that alcohol has on her. “If I go 12 hours, 14 hours without a drink, I’m vomiting, I get diarrhoea,” she explains in the first episode of Addicted Australia. The new SBS-TV documentary series, screening on Tuesday nights, follows 10 Australians as they work their way through a six-month Turning Point treatment program in the hope of conquering their addiction.
Dawn is a warm woman with a wry sense of humour. “I have tried several times to stop drinking. I stopped drinking prior to all of my pregnancies,” she tells Tonic. “Possibly the most successful time was when I went into rehab for four and a half weeks and managed to stay sober for 100 days. But then my second husband left me and I had a minor breakdown.”
This time around, she has a specific reason for wanting to quit. Her daughter is pregnant and she is about to become a grandmother. “I doubt very much she’d let me babysit, and I don’t blame her. I want to be a role model for this child,” she says on Addicted Australia.
Dawn is one of a growing number of Australian women struggling with alcohol addiction, according to Dan Lubman, Professor of Addiction Studies and Services at Monash University. He runs Turning Point and says that an increasing number of Australian women have problems with alcohol, with one in three exceeding the recommended drinking guidelines (no more than 10 standard drinks in a week and a maximum of four standard drinks on any one day).
“In the last two decades we have seen the normalisation of drinking among women … alcoholic beverages that are targeted at women, marketing campaigns that place alcohol as central to women getting together socially,” he says. “Alcohol is wherever we go – the cinema, the hairdressers, school fetes. We’re at a stage where people don’t even question that alcohol is available everywhere.”
“One in five people will develop a problem with alcohol, drugs or gambling – it’s incredibly common. They’re not weak-willed or immoral – this is a real health condition.”
Given the stigma that surrounds addiction many women grapple with their problems for decades before they seek help. “One in five people will develop a problem with alcohol, drugs or gambling – it’s incredibly common. They’re not weak-willed or immoral – this is a real health condition,” Professor Lubman says. “The good news is, help is out there. If you go online and look you will find confidential helplines you can call to get advice and support. There is an enormous amount of fantastic evidence-based treatment available.”
The longer people wait before seeking treatment, the more damage is inflicted – not just on themselves, but on the people around them. “My biggest regret about drinking has been the lack of knowledge I had when I was younger [about] the impact it had on my family and, more recently, my health,” Dawn says.
Seeking help early on is vital. “In breast cancer, cervical cancer, melanoma, mental health, we’re getting across the message that early treatment brings better results,” Professor Lubman says. “If you recognise that you’re drinking a lot more than you would like, or that it’s impacting your life in some way, reach out for support.”
Dawn has one piece of advice for anyone who is worried that their drinking may be out of control. “I would tell them that … if they are even a little bit worried about their consumption, seek help. I would like to reinforce what Professor Lubman told me during the program: this is a disease and it’s not the fault of the individual.”
Having completed the treatment program, Dawn says that she is satisfied with her progress and with the fact that she has been able to build a relationship with her granddaughter. “I may never be perfect or a total non-drinker. It’s my aim, but with an addiction that has lasted for as long as mine has, it may take a bit more time.”
If you think you might need help, visit Counselling Online or the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.
Words_ Ute Junker
Photo_ Raul Angel/UnSplash