Weekend Alcoholism
When casual drinks with friends turns into binge drinking or alcohol dependency.
Stopping the Cycle
How one woman took control over addiction
“I would go to sleep every night hoping that I didn’t wake up in the morning, but praying that my son wouldn’t be the one to find me,” says Meredith, wife and mother of four.
She was caught in a cycle of drinking and drug addiction that she could not control. After a day of heavy drinking, mornings would begin with prescription amphetamines to help her get out of bed.
“By 10 a.m. I would be shaking badly from the amphetamines and alcohol withdrawal,” says Meredith. “That’s when the drinking would start.”
From there, her drinking would continue until she went to sleep, often consuming between four and six bottles of wine per day. She would then take Xanax to end her day, convinced that she would not be able to sleep without it.
“The cycle went on and on and I couldn’t stop.”
Her excessive drinking began to take a toll on her body. She was experiencing symptoms such as impaired vision and digestive issues, each of which would provoke web searches with a common answer: alcoholism.
Finally, Meredith made the decision to seek help. In the spring of 2014, Meredith checked herself into Henry Ford Maplegrove Center in West Bloomfield, beginning her journey toward recovery with twelve days of residential treatment.
“I was very emotional. I was exhausted from living in the crazy cycle of addiction,” she says. “It was a relief to be surrounded by people who understood me and what I was going through.”
Maplegrove offered Meredith a personalized, comprehensive approach to addiction treatment in a structured setting. She was introduced to coping skills and knowledge she needed to begin to understand and take control of her disease.
“They helped me understand that there is no cure for addiction, but there are ways to manage it.”
Her treatment plan included medically assisted treatment to help her safely detox from drugs and alcohol, as well as individual and group therapy sessions. The staff’s team approach to addiction treatment allowed for both comfort and accountability, which Meredith greatly appreciated.
“I felt like everyone cared so much about me personally and my recovery,” she recalls. “I could always go to somebody if I needed to talk.”
Following her residential treatment, Meredith returned home to her family and began Maplegrove’s intensive outpatient program (IOP). For the next six weeks, she received structured, outpatient treatment three times per week. She says the IOP taught her the skills needed to continue with her recovery.
“One of the things that really stuck with me was when the therapist told me, ‘It doesn’t end here.’ I knew the only way I was going to keep my recovery going was for me to continue on.”
Meredith then joined Maplegrove’s Early Recovery Group and saw a therapist individually over the next two years. Today, she continues to attend 12-step meetings and credits Maplegrove for the incredible recovery and progress she has made. Her experience inspired her to pursue a Master’s degree in social work so she could help others in their recovery journey.
“I could not have done it without Maplegrove. My kids absolutely love me. My husband loves me. They tell me they are proud of me. I don’t think I have ever been happier in my life.”