If you are reading this because you are considering joining Rethink Drink, please do not hesitate. When I began researching The Sinclair Method, I honestly thought it sounded too good to be true. If I hadn’t taken that leap of faith and signed up almost four months ago, I would still be trapped in that awful cycle of drinking, insomnia, anxiety, frustration and guilt that had blighted my life for far too long.
Over the last thirty years, I have tried to cut down on alcohol many times, and in many different ways. Nothing worked and I blamed myself, for being weak and lacking willpower. Deep down, I didn’t want – or wasn’t ready – to give up alcohol completely. But I had completely lost control. I would wake up in the morning worrying about the effect my 70-100 units a week was having on me, mentally and physically. By 6pm that same day, I would find myself reaching for the bottle again. On the days I did manage to abstain, I was simply white knuckling it through and I had no faith in my ability to keep it up.
I came across The Sinclair Method purely by accident. I can’t believe now that it had never come up during one of my endless Google searches for help. From the moment I pressed that Launch button, I felt better – simply knowing I had taken a significant step towards wresting back control.
Initially, I was mostly interested in the medication – the programme involves taking Naltrexone one hour before drinking – and I didn’t think I needed or even necessarily wanted the counselling that goes hand-in-hand with it. I have had counselling for my alcohol dependency before and it didn’t make any difference. In fact, when it didn’t work, I felt even more of a failure.
This was very different. The sessions I have had with Steve have been crucial in helping me to understand why alcohol had such a grip on me and what I needed to do to find the freedom I craved. This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Steve properly listened to me and made the effort to get to know and understand me and my dependency. He also candidly shared his own experiences, which made an enormous difference and really helped bolster my own self-esteem, which had taken such a battering.
Throughout, Steve has been patient, understanding, encouraging and positive, especially on the weeks when I didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. He made it clear he would always be available if I ever needed extra support outside the regular Zoom sessions. He let me work through the programme and my own specific issues in my own time without ever putting any pressure of me. This, I feel, has been key to my being able to manage my relationship with alcohol and obtain the peace of mind that brings, which is priceless.
To be clear, this is not a quick fix. If it was, it wouldn’t be as effective. You have to take the medication, and you sometimes have to be patient and continue to trust the process. But it works – thank heavens. Signing up with Rethink Drink has been one of the best things I have ever done. I honestly cannot recommend Steve and the team highly enough.