David McCartney had developed a serious drinking problem during the time that he worked as an inner-city GP. As his drinking increased, his interests and hobbies disappeared. His personal honesty eroded and a mountain of shame grew. His self-esteem diminished greatly, as he was living against all his personal values.
David eventually asked his GP to sign him off work through stress, as he thought he could tackle his problematic drinking when avoiding work. Instead, he started drinking in the mornings. His GP referred him to an addictions psychiatrist who arranged a community detox, involving librium and various other drugs. At one stage, David was taking between 20 and 30 pills a day.
This experience was one of the most unpleasant of David’s life. He was extremely anxious and agitated, and couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t stop thinking about alcohol, or focus on anything else. And then…
A Miraculous Discovery!? [2’21”]
After a few months, David stopped taking his pills. He thought he could have a social drink, but this turned out to be a disaster. He went back to work, but the craving continued.
One day, David found that if he took codeine his craving for alcohol disappeared. He thought he had made a great discovery. Instead, as he freely confesses, he wasn’t smart enough to connect the dots. He descended very rapidly into an opiate addiction. This time when things collapsed and the consequences were mounting up…