Testimonial #1
Since my mum started using AUK she has stopped drinking and it has made a massive difference to her, now she is less tired all the time and she has been much less irritable. I think Addictions UK is great because now I have my mum back.

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Testimonial #2
The first time I phoned Addictions UK, I was hung over, frightened, lonely and desperate. I had known for a long time that my alcohol addiction was out of control, but I’d always drank it away, convincing myself I could deal with it on my own and letting dreadful fear continue to bubble under the surface. I had tried getting help a few times over the years, but my feeling of shame about my addiction lead me to isolating myself again and going straight back to drinking.

When I found AUK and the strength to call them, it was a small relief in itself. I spoke to someone who seemed to know how I felt and the courage it had taken to phone. I wanted to get things moving quickly, as I was frightened that I would have one or two sober days and convince myself again that I didn’t have a problem. AUK were able to do this for me, so, in a short time, I had my first phone call from my counsellor. He called me daily and for the first time in years I began to feel that I didn’t need to feel ashamed about my addiction and there was a whole world of people out there suffering from the same problem.

As a recovering alcoholic himself, I felt that my counsellor was totally in tune with me and my whole situation. Sometimes there were times when he would say something that connected exactly to the way I felt and I felt like clapping and laughing out loud that another person not only understood, but had actually felt the same; it was a little like being let out of a cage.

With my counsellors support and guidance my self awareness and understanding grew; I learned tools and “tricks of the trade” to help me cope and focus in daily life and to change my way of thinking and, ultimately, to leave alcohol behind me and keep it that way. The fact that I was in daily contact with my counsellor and had access to twenty four hour support made all the difference to me.

It seems strange to think that first phone call was such a relatively short time ago, as it sometimes feels like a different lifetime. I have made lots of changes in my behaviour and attitude to life and am heading in a much more hopeful and exciting direction.