Sobriety Films UK presents How I Got Sober, a short film featuring alcoholics Kate and Warren and how they achieved recovery. Followed by a Q&A with the Director and other contributors.
6pm - 8pm
FREE
Sobriety Films UK presents
How I Got Sober , dir. Maddie Kitchen, 2019, 15’
a revealing and compelling short film about hope and despair which ultimately throws light on the growing problem of alcoholism in our country.
Director Maddie Kitchen, herself in recovery for 13 years explains:
'Alcoholism and addiction is still stigmatised in society but it is a very human and common problem. Alcoholics aren't the old guy on the park bench, they are sitting next to you at work and on the train. They are mothers and fathers, sister and brothers, spouses and friends. They are Judges and teachers, bank clerks and road sweepers. Recovery from alcoholism can be achieved. I hope this film will inspire people that change is possible’
Do you think you have a problem with drink? Are you worried that it’s taking over your life? Are you a concerned family member or partner of a drinker?
Watch Katie and Warren’s stories as they share their experience of sobriety, highlighting what it feels like to be in the active throes of addiction. How bad did it get for them? How did they get help? What does their recovery look and feel like?
Warren, aged 53, from North London knew he ‘didn’t drink like normal people’, from an early age. After a violent childhood, he drank to escape haunting and painful memories.. As a teenager, with his spirit crushed he found that alcohol could help him with his extreme shyness, especially around women. It gave him the temporary self esteem and confidence he didn't posses. He drank for 25 years which resulted in homelessness and was forced to beg, borrow and steal to fund his habit.
At the end of his tether, Warren in desperation attended his first 12 step meeting. Throwing himself into the programme he went to a meeting everyday for the first four years. Warren is now a man with a faith. Active in the Buddhist community he is married and a father to stepson James:
“As a sober man today my life is fantastic, every aspect of my life has improved. I quite literally have a life beyond my wildest dreams. I never dreamt I’d have these wonderful conditions I have today. It’s changed in every single way, its changed materially, even on a very base level, the shoes I put on my feet, the shirt I put on my back, the roof over my head, the food I put in my belly. I can do all these things today. I have integrity and that is the greatest gift, it’s what I always wanted, my life has changed in wonderful ways.”
Warren is 13 years sober.
Katie, aged 39 from Lancashire, was told by her doctor in her teens that she had organic liver disease that wasn't related to alcohol consumption. But she couldn't stop drinking. She drank to cope with extreme social anxiety and depression. It became her medication,
her answer to mental suffering. For Katie, addiction and mental health go hand in hand. When she ended up in rehab she wasn't aware she was an alcoholic. Suicidal, agoraphobic and desperate, she was put on antidepressants, Valium and sleeping pills. She had tried CBT but it hadn't worked. At rehab she learnt a lot about addiction and ‘dual diagnosis’. She started attending recovery groups and built up a network of peer support, people who were going through the same thing. She achieved four years sober. Relapse is a part of addiction and Katie then relapsed after a mental health health crisis precipitated by multiple bereavements.
She now takes her recovery a day at a time, uses meditation and relies on her support groups and network to maintain her sobriety. Katie is a talented singer songwriter who has learned to perform without alcohol even though she suffers with anxiety. She has been singing professionally in function bands since the age of 19. She started writing her own songs as an outlet for her suffering, a practise which has proved cathartic. Her creativity continues to inspire and encourage her recovery journey:
“The advice I would give to somebody who wanted to get sober is to ask for help because I could not have done this on my own. I was so lost and I didn't know what was wrong with me. And the best thing that I did was just keep asking for help and when I found support groups of people who were suffering from the same thing as me - that’s where the magic happens. That’s what recovery is all about, the unity of everyone helping each other and sharing common difficulties and overcoming them and living life. Living and thriving with- out having to use alcohol.”
Katie is 4 months sober. ————————————————————————————————————————