
Dave
Journey towards health and well-being
“I’ve really gotten into Buddhism and I’ve found it very helpful to understand what’s gone wrong in my life and how I can possibly make it better. The thing about alcohol and Buddhism that I’ve been reading up on it’s like one of the worst things that you can do because it’s clinging to a substance that is really bad for you and makes you behave very improperly. And if you die an alcoholic you die a very painful death as everyone knows. Training to be a Buddhist you know and any doctors will tell you. But you die clinging to something that is in this world and from an Eastern point of view when you die you need to be free of the body you need to be free of the desires. You need to be able to pass on from that and so I really don’t want to die like that and I really don’t want to inflict that upon my friends either.”
“A few steps forwards and one or two steps back and then a few steps forwards again. And it takes time and I sort of feel like I’m getting there.”
Dave suffered from anxiety for which he took prescribed drugs. He also found that alcohol removed his anxiety and made him feel ‘normal’. However, the reliance on alcohol became an addiction which he has struggled to throw off. The start of his journey away from alcohol was the realisation that he does not want a painful death and to inflict pain on his friends. He has tried many routes but Buddhism resonates with him the most. Dave is realistic that he will have lapses on his journey but is positive he can succeed in moving forward.