'I'd black out after couple of glasses' (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

'I'd black out after couple of glasses'

BINGE DRINKING FEATURE: Jane* is in her 40s, happily married and has two teenage children.

She is also an alcoholic who has also been sober for more than seven years.

She says that everyone's experience of the disease varies. "There are no hard and fast rules," she said.

"But it always needs to be up to the individual to decide when they are ready for help.

"Alcoholism has been recognised as a disease by the American Medical Association and described as a mental obsession coupled with a physical allergy.

"It is chronic, progressive and if nothing is done about it, it is fatal."

Jane's first step towards recovery came after a visit to a counsellor after she started experiencing blackouts. She said: "I didn't drink everyday but was more of a binge-drinker at weekends.

"I used to drink mainly wine and beer. But in the last year of drinking I realised I was losing hours at a time. I would call a friend up and start telling her something and she would say 'you phoned me last night and told me this.'

"It became so frightening I had no recollection of anything. Sometimes I'd blackout after a couple of glasses, other times it would be after a few bottles.

"The unpredictability really scared me."

Jane started attending Alcoholics Anonymous four times a week and says something just clicked inside.

"At this point I didn't realise I had a problem but I heard people at the meeting talking about their mental obsessions and the fear they felt inside, and I immediately related to it," she said..

"Meetings are held all over Wiltshire, and I go to a couple a week.

"My children are happy they have a well mummy, but they were younger when I had the problem so were never really aware of it."

*Not her real name