Support for You – One Woman’s Story

Louise C. runs a successful family business in Scotland that employs 90 people.

But she very nearly lost all of this, and her life, due to chronic alcoholism. Louise thanks her family for getting her into treatment. She remembers the day her family dropped her off at Castle Craig: “It took three men to drop me at the door of Castle Craig.”

She admits that “the best thing to do with alcoholics is to gang up on them and give them no option but to try treatment and face up to their addiction.” Once that is done, “you’re half-way there.”

She explains that in the six weeks she spent at Castle Craig, she started to understand her disease and get better. “Castle Craig gave me time, understanding and patience, showed me what was the matter, that it wasn’t my fault and how we could mend it.”

In residential rehab she realised that the disease of alcoholism “was going to kill me”. After many weeks of therapy she was able to face up to herself, overcome her fears and learn to be “happy in my skin and happy to be myself.”