Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

Readmitted to Rehab - Former Alcoholic Speaks Out on Rehab

A FORMER alcoholic who is now helping transform the lives of those addicted to drink, has spoken out about the troublesome road to and from rehab.

Colin Perriss, the founder of alcohol mentoring company eNP4, was himself a ‘serious alcoholic’ and lost 100's of 1000's of pounds in the process.

He finally kicked the habit three years ago and has since made it his life objective to steer others away from the path he travelled and to help educate employers and individuals.

His comments come specifically in reference to rehabilitation –following recent news that yet another celebrity has been ‘readmitted’.

“It is always sad and disturbing to see anyone admitted to rehabilitation for alcohol addiction, but to be readmitted is all the more distressing, especially for the individual concerned and for those close to them,” he said.

“As an ex-alcoholic I struggle to understand why anyone would choose to go back. I seem to remember reading somewhere that one of the definitions of insanity is repeating the same exercise expecting a different result!”

Recalling his own experience, he added: “When I drank alcohol, I did so to change my ‘state’ or the way I was feeling, and it worked every time and usually fairly quickly, although towards the end of my alcoholic days it took more to get the same effect than when I started out, but as with most alcoholics my tolerance to alcohol was very high in the end.

“I could drink substantial amounts of alcohol with no obvious difference to my physical appearance, my speech, people around me didn’t even realise that I had been drinking. I was just ‘one of the boys’ and the more poison I could drink and stay standing the better my image, in their eyes at least.

“Strange things like how long I could hold off visiting the toilet and the gap between subsequent visits seemed to affect my credibility among my drinking friends.”

As Colin approached the point at which he was facing the choice of changing or dying, he felt that, for him, rehabilitation simply wasn’t an option.

By that time he had drunk away all of his money and felt he had to work it out himself.

“Rehab is very unlikely to be the place where you started drinking alcohol, you are outside of your normal environment or ‘reality’,” he said.

“Go back to your reality and most likely there are the things that drove you to drink waiting for you. Maybe your work in rehab will have given you some tools to use when you believe that you just can’t cope and your old friend alcohol will fix it for you - but it will never fix anything.

“You are most likely back in rehab because you have not tackled or addressed whatever it is that is driving you to drink alcohol to change the way that you feel about it, and clearly rehab did not help you to address the last time that you find yourself there.”

Colin believes alcoholism is completely curable. He believes that if we know enough about alcohol, how and why it works, there’s a good chance we would never want to drink it again.

Unlike many training companies and individuals dealing with alcoholics, Colin’s unique position is that he has experienced the living hell that is alcoholism.

“In my experience two steps are required,” he said. “The first is to stop drinking alcohol (having consulted you GP first as Delirium Tremors or the DT’s is considered a medical emergency and can be fatal), and the second is to tackle whatever it is that’s driving you to drink alcohol to change the way you feel.

“Many of us avoid this process or at best delay it because we know that it is likely to be both painful and challenging.”

He added: “If Rehab worked for you, that’s good news and I hope that the rest of your life will be all you want it to be.

“If however following a stint in rehab you are thinking of a return, ask what will be different this time, if there's no obvious answer it may be time to consider a different path. You do have a choice.”

For further info about eNP4, visit www.enp4.co.uk or call 01553 849867


NOTES TO EDITORS:

For further info on this news release or eNP4, contact Deborah Watson on 01394 446490 or deborah@lexiamedia.co.uk