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Alcoholics in the Philippines

To get the meetings all over the Philippines Contact this number

CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES

A lot of contact names and numbers and meeting times and places have changed since 2006. Here’s the link of the yahoo group of AA Philippines:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAPhilippines

If anyone is interested please join the group. Once a member, you can access DATABASE where the List of meetings and contacts will be found. Metro Manila is under NCR. You may leave the group anytime you wish.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632 896 5707. (Teena M.)

Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

mel gibsonWhen the high and mighty fall, the road to recovery begins with a public apology. If there is any redeeming factor that [tag]Mel Gibson[/tag] has given to the world is the media coverage of [tag] alcoholism[/tag] devastating consequences. In the Philippines, drunken men or women are a common sight in parties, fiestas or celebrations. Oooh, you can see them falling to the floor, slurring their words or being just an annoying loud mouth. The party drunk, the life of the party, right? The San Miguel Beer says it all. The multi-million ad portrays a festive atmosphere where beer overflows and sexy ladies sashay their bodies or flaunt their beauty. Such an ad conditions the mind of our vulnerable young kids to associate beer with lovely women and lure them to a life of fun-filled parties.

The effects of alcoholism are easily shown in the sensational section of the local TV news. How often do you see wives beaten up by their husbands? Or children being sexually abused by their biological fathers? What about that actor caught for drunk driving? Though I don’t have the statistics right now, I bet there are cases of drunk -related accidents or physical abuse.

Countless families are ruined and being ruined by alcoholism. Family members walk in eggshells as they pass by the pink elephant snoring in their living room. Not many know that alcoholics are just in the same level as drug addicts. It’s even harder for alcoholics to abstain from their addiction because alcohol is available everywhere. San Miguel beer ads often show a party atmosphere and that a party is incomplete without beer. Oh well, how else can they advertise right? Still they shouldn’t show bottles of beer on the table. Drinking alcohol is so much a part of our Filipino culture. In fact , it is “macho” if one can gulp a number of beer bottles. There is the issue that one is not an alcoholic just because the person is not rolling in the road or that he doesn’t drink everyday anyway. Does the person even know he is an alcoholic?

It was Alcoholics Anonymous who

was instrumental in again emphasizing the “disease concept” of alcoholism, the defining work was done by Elvin Jellinek, M.D., of the Yale Center of Alcohol Studies. In his book, The Disease Concept of Alcoholism, published in 1960, Jellinek described alcoholics as individuals with tolerance, withdrawal symptoms, and either “loss of control” or “inability to abstain” from alcohol. He asserted that these individuals could not drink in moderation, and, with continued drinking, the disease was progressive and life-threatening. Jellinek also recognized that some features of the disease (e.g., inability to abstain and loss of control) were shaped by cultural factors- source

I wasn’t aware that alcoholism is a “disease” until my friend confided that her husband was confined in a rehab center in Tagaytay two years ago. (I asked permission to quote her and changed some circumstances to protect their privacy. ) I thought only drug addicts get rehabiliated.

“Alcohol is a drug. Alcoholism is an illness, which is successfully treatable with a wide variety of interventions. It stems from a genetically mediated biological predisposition, and for those who are hardwired with the potential for alcoholism, drinking can prove to be a chronic, debilitating enemy.

My husband wasn’t a social drinker. His drinking bouts got to the point that he incurred so many absences from work . I felt he would lose his job anytime if he didn’t shape up. I didn’t want to wait till he had nothing left so I had him confined at Makati Medical Center upon the advice of a psychiatrist-friend. He experienced withdrawal symptons like any drug addict like “hand tremors and rage”. But don’t you know my husband was the only alcoholic among the in-patients? Even the Alcoholics Anonymous Philippines have very few alcoholics. In fact, most of its members are drug addicts. That does not deter him from attending weekly AA meetings for the past 2 years now. I am aware that he can relapse anytime.

The level of awareness that alcoholism can be treated is still not as widespread as drug addiction rehabilitation. Rehab cost is not cheap. One can spend up to 140,000 thousand pesos ($2800) for a 60 day program. But his life was at stake if he didn’t try to recover, right? So it was worth the expense. I am just taking it one day at a time. I too have my own recovery program because alcoholism is a family disease. Even if I am not an alcoholic, I imbibed some of his irritating habits. I am recovering. He is on the road to recovery thanks to AA meetings.

As we continued chatting, I immediately surfed and discovered that there is no [tag]Alcoholics Anonymous[/tag] (AA) Philippines website nor contact numbers on how to reach this group. But they are found in the PLDT telephone book. Look for “Alcoholics Anonymous”. , my friend added. A lot of alcoholics around the world have been saved by the AA program since 1935 but how many alcoholics in the Philippines even know that the group is active?

My friend continued

Word of mouth I guess. Psychiatrists even recommend it. My husband also attended an AA meeting in Boracay during our last summer vacation.

Alcoholics in the Philippines, there you have it. You can recover if you want to. AA is free so try that first.

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78 thoughts on “Alcoholics in the Philippines”

  1. I just happened to see your entry at pinoyblog. I have the meeting schedules of AA meetings when I called the number in the telephone book. The dude emailed me this sched. I will gladly share it here:

    CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
    Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
    Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

    ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS MEETINGS IN THE PHILIPPINES

    Monday at 7:00 PM
    Holy Trinity Church
    48 A Mckinley Road
    Forbes Park Makati

    Tuesday at 730PM
    St. Andrews Church
    Reposo cor Kalayaan
    BelAir 2

    Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 8:30 PM
    Makati Medical Center
    College of Nursing Student Lounge

    Monday-Wednesday-Friday at 6:30 PM
    11th St. New Manila

    Thursday at 7:30 PM
    Holy Trinity Church
    48 A Mckinley Road
    Forbes Park Makati

    Saturday and Sunday at 8:00 PM
    Makati Medical Center
    College of Nursing Student Lounge

    Saturday at 12:30pm
    Seaman’s Club
    Bonifacio Drive
    8th St. Port Area
    Manila

    Sunday at 12 noon
    Seaman’s Club
    Bonifacio Drive
    8th St. Port Area
    Manila

  2. It’s quite astounding despite the adverse effects of alcoholism that our local youths are often encouraged to drink to demonstrate their inchoate machismo.

    Addiction to alcohol may also lead to addictions to other substances or behavior as well — nicotine, sugar, sexual promiscuity, marijuana, excessive spending/shopping and etc. Usually an average addict does not suffer from a single addiction alone, but from multiple addictions.

    Although alcoholism has been acknowledged a disease by our medical community, it is oftentimes, a mere symptom to a deeper-seated personal dilemma. And unfortunately, unless the addict himself acknowledges his addiction and is fully willing to combat it, no one is powerful enough to make him or her seek treatment.

    A great and timely post, indeed! A subject that must be continually discussed.

  3. @Bobby- thanks. That will be so useful

    @eric- good you stopped before you ran out of control

    @at the other eric- You’re right. Alcoholism could be an underlying sympton of a problem. Like any other drug, alcohol can numb feelings. I think this is a topic that should be discussed extensively as alcoholism as a disease is still a new concept in our country,

    1. Hi, I’m Ed, recovering alcoholic, grateful recovering addict. God bless. I must immediately connect to AA and NA groups and people from that fellowship. I’m in the Philippines it’s 8:07 a.m. Good morning!

  4. BTW, Noemi, neglected to include the fact that my father was an alcoholic and died from it. He was never abusive or hurtful to anyone; but just the same, his death adversely affected everyone in the family. And although I never acquired a taste for alcohol, I grew up angry for his having died when I was young. Such was the hidden collateral damage brought about by alcoholism. Once I gain the strength, I will blog about this personal trauma.

    1. My father uses alcohol to numb his pain and heighten his pleasure. As a child, I was insecure and angry. I carried that attitude well into adulthood. In other countries, I have been able to attend Alanon meetings. Alanon Family Groups are support for the family and friends who are affected by someone’s drinking addiction. I am still trying to find such a support group in this country. So far, no luck.

  5. As you already know, Noemi, my father was also an alcoholic who abused my mother when he was drunk. This led to their separation and it also affected all of us greatly. My father has long been gone now, but we never really talked about the abuse that happened when my sister and I were still little girls. We’d talk about my father once in a while, but just like that pink elephant in the room, we’d just talk around how he drunk too much and how he’d pass out and never really talk about the effects had his drinking on us. It’s good that there is now an Alcoholic Anonymous there in the Philippines because I don’t think we had it back then.

  6. @eric: when I wrote this blog entry, I surfed for blogs that discussed alcoholism in the Philippines setting. If you write about it one day, it wil add to the facts of how alcoholism affects families

    @niceheart: Yes I read about it and was truly touched. Do you mind if I link it in this entry? It’s okay if you don’t want.

  7. I know a family in the Philippines that is being distroyed by Alcoholism . They were unaware of AA. I found this site and was happy to see that alcoholics anonymous is available in the Philippines. It has been the most effective way of treating the disease . It has saved many lives and families. Awareness is a first step.

    1. Thank you for your message.
      I’m going to daet camerines norte this November and will stay till May 2010
      There are no AA mtgs in Daet. I want to start a meeting in Daet. I would love to see a list of any AA mtgs. in Naga, Legaspi or other nearby areas. I may ask members from areas near Daet to help me start the meeting. I am a sober member of AA for 30+ years from Canada. Please reply

  8. i have a hangover right now at this moment.kaya hinanap ko na hinanp ko na AA philippines .i need a support group.im just 27 and became adrunkardvery early.i fought with drinking in a year,after learning meditation.but is now deafeated by it again.i still wont give up.ill be going to manila.i have to find aa philippines.and ask for help.

  9. hi everybody.

    im tata an alcoholic. im glad i surfed this site. i was looking for some article/pictures on alcoholism for my lecture to university students. im a faculty member till now who changed my teaching schedule. now all my schedules are in the morning starting at 7 am. i’m done on absentism problem when i stopped drinking 20 months ago. i used to teach during the afternoon schedule but sometimes i could not meet my students because of alcohol.

    not only that, because of alcohol, i lost my wife through separation. i committed physical, sexual, emotional and financial abuse that even my eldest daughter till now hates me.

    i have a girlfriend but she left me then because after 18 years of separation i saw the pattern of my abuses to my first wife. now she is 6 months pregnant.

    i also endangered my daughter and son lives while driving drunk or with hangover. while i was working in san pablo city, laguna i was few seconds away to be hit by a passing train.

    i resigned from my job thinking that it was boring and physically exhausting. yes it was boring and exhausting because i used to open and closed karaoke bars and do field work in the morning and slept in the afternoon.

    financially i was negative despite my contract growing with magnolia chicken. now im about to recover and pay my debts.

    above all, i was spiritually bankrupt. i thank my loving God that he brought me to a rehab ( i volunteered myself for 45 days). for the first 3 weeks i struggled because i wanted to go home but after my 4th week i was afraid to go out because i felt safe. the center introduced me the 12 steps.

    thank you guys.

    1. please tell me which rehab you went. i want to help my father. he is now 68 years old and still very much hook in taking alcohol. i want him to live his remaining life with dignity. he’s been into this addiction for almost 40 years now. we grew up in a miserable condition because of his vice. please help me contact the rehab that helped you. thanks so much.

      1. Its never too late to get sober. Does your father read English or Tagalog? The Big Book of AA has been translated. One suggestion out of the book is too leave a copy of the book where he can find it. Another thing you can do is to contact members of AA and have them do a 12 step call on him. They will share with him what it was like, what happened, and what its like now. He should be able to relate with them..

  10. Thanks for all the information, ma’am Noemi. My dad’s friend in community is looking for an alcoholics program so that she could get her son to recover.
    To all alcoholics, I somehow feel your pain in another way, and about another kind of dependency. There are many ways that people can get dependent. And there is always hope even at the lowest ebb of the recovery experience.

  11. I am a dry alcoholic and on a 4 month holday in the Philippines.
    I live in a vilage called San Nicolas near tayuk or Urganata. I would like to meat other alcoholics for a meeting. Who can help.

  12. hi alex, if you live at San Nicolas Pangasinan near Tayug or Urdaneta, there are Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings in Baguio City just an hour
    ride from your place..

    AA Baguio meetings are Mon Wed Fri Sat 10am
    at the Baguio Cathedral Rectory.
    and Mon Wed Fri 6PM at the Silungan Center between Barrio Fiesta and NBI very near SM Baguio.

    See you there brother….

  13. Hi,
    I will be visiting Boracy in less that two weeks and would love to find a meeting there (hey, even “whereever two or more are gathered” works!)

    I am sober almost 25 years and absolutely insist on enjoying life – and I do. (check out my book “The Glumlot Letters” at amazon or google, etc.)

    write to me at gratt2d at yahoo THX!
    Stanley M.

  14. I met AA in Baguio when I monitored one of the patient attending AA meetings and everyone in the group was inviting me to attend the. Im not an alcoholic but my father died from alcohol. I never attended a single meeting, because it scares me. But i was kind of thinking of it most of the time. that is just what i really dont understand.

  15. glad to find this site,, its really helpful for us recovering. even reading the sharing really reminds me of my desease,,a site were we can share our strenght and hope.more power buddy.

  16. Hello:

    My addiction is not with alcohol but with sex; I’ve led a promiscuous, guilt-filled life these past three years, moving from one partner to another. Do you know of a support group in Metro Manila I can turn to? Please help me…

  17. To all those wanting to know the meetings, contact this

    CONTACT NUMBERS OF ALCOHOLIC ANONYMOUS PHILIPPINES
    Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) hotline# +632-890-2247 / +63917-8954254 (Teena M.)
    Telefax 890-2247
    Email: [email protected] / [email protected]

    TO Adam: please contact a counselor. They will refer you to the anonymous group. You have to understand that one can’t just step in without referral.

  18. Hi –

    I’m visiting from Los Angeles – Looking for meetings near the Dusit hotel in downtown. Are there any? I’m also out working near here:

    Buencamino Street, Alabang
    Muntinlupa City
    Philippines 1770

    thanks.

    -tbf

  19. Thank you for this blogpost. I was looking for the AA website for the Philippines, and thankfully, Google led me here. I called the hotline and got a very nice response. If not for this post….I can’t say how grateful I am. Thanks again.

  20. Howdy. My name is Brian W. I live in nthe mountains of Colorado USA. I am married to a Filipina from Pangasinan. This summer we plan to travel to Pangasinan and I was going to try to start a meeting in Urdaneta City. I know AA is alive and well in the Philippines but it is too bad that there aren’t more meetings in the more rural areas. My wife has alot of alcoholic relatives and i’d like to try to help them. I’m trying to figure out why the Philippines is having such a hard time grabbing on to this simple program. The only thing I can come up with is that here in the US you can get sober and then achieve anything. Correct me if i’m wrong but it seems to me that in more impoverished countries the hopelessness drunk or sober keeps people away from getting sober. I need to know more about Philippine AA. I think helping parents get sober will also help the little children I encounter selling flower necklaces and begging in the streets. (Which is a main concern of mine)..

    1. Hi. Living in san Antonio, Tx now. Lived in the Angeles area for about 5 yrs. sober 23 years. There are meetings about four times a week in the Fields ave. area of Angeles. Post # 10 American Legion about 3 times a week at 12 noon. Mostly Americans , Australians. Solid meeting. Much long term sobriety. It is sad there is not more AA in the PI. Especially the Manila area. But , there is not. Joe W.

      1. Howdy Joe. I’m starting to understand the culture difference between the US and the Philippines. If I visit it will be up to me to find a meeting in Bagio City or Makati. If I can find someone from the village who actually wants to get sober, I can bring them to a meeting and then, if they wish, they themselves can try to start a meeting closer to the village. I’ll help to start it when i’m there. I know the next time I visit the Philipppines i’ll bring alot of literature, and maybe even a couple of meeting start up kits with the preamble and some pamphlets. Peace everyone, and in conclusion i’ll quote a part from my favorite section of the Big Book. “There are many situations which arise out of the phenomenon of craving which cause men to make the supreme sacrifice rather than continue to fight” p.XXX From the Doctors Opinion. I use to give in easily, I had a million excuses like, I’m too nervous, or those people at the meeting annoy me. No more excuses for me. The miracle has happened for me. I stuck it out and now i’m happy, joyous and free. AA is my life and this really is livin’. This is for the new people, Sometimes you have to struggle, but the miracle WILL happen if you work the program the way it was made to be worked. In the morning ask God (on your knees) to please keep you sober for the day. Try to hit a meeting that day, call your sponser or try to talk with another alcoholic , be loving, tolerant and kind, and at the end of the day get (on your knees again!) , Thank God for another day Sober. See Ya, Brian…

  21. My d.o.s. is 3/14/01. I’ve been doing business here in Makati for 2.5 months, now without a meeting. You can say my spiritual well is running dry and I’m in the process of poking around to find other drunks that speak English in metro Manila.

    I called Manila’s Intergroup last night. They gave me a meeting for today that’s an hour away via taxi from my current location (which is the Central Business District). So, I will have to employ due diligence just like anything else here to discover other meetings in and around the CBD. After I do my research, I might have to be pro-active and build an informational website for A.A. foreigners visiting metro Manila.

    Re: Brian W.
    I was married to a Pinay for 9 years, and now I’m here. The Pilipinas is a 3rd-world country, bro. People are dying in the streets of diseases that are non-existent in main-stream America. The family defines your role, here. No one leaves their family in the Phil, diba? Drinking is a family pattern. The whole family has to change … and that is not going to happen, here. Sorry.

  22. Dude. Go to [email protected] Its a website chat room thing if you have a Yahoo account. Or you can make one. I wasn’t trying to down the Philippine AA. I was just confussed because of the culture difference. In the basement of Makati Hospital where the nurses are lsctured there is a meeting twice a week. Go to Makati Medical center and ask them where it is. I’ll also look up the website for meetings and get back to you. Your attitude of starting an info website was that of mine too until I found on that Yahoo site everything is still there. Those guys set me straight and knocked me down a little bit. Your right my attitude was a little ethnocentrical. I’ll get back to you. Hang in there bro, San Miguel is cheap but, the price of giving up the fight is astronomical.

  23. This blog has all sorts of good AA connections and the Makati City meeting is posted. Once again try the Philippine AA Yahoo chatrooms. They help alot..Good luck brother, Brian..

  24. Thank you for this post.

    I am just 20 years old and I want to stop my addiction to alcohol. It just hit me these past few days that I do have an alcohol problem and I want to get better. My addiction has gone so bad that it has affected my relationship with my girlfriend. One night, I was so drunk that I raised a hand on my girlfriend. I hurt her physically and emotionally. What’s worse, is that I barely remember what happened the next day. I am really sorry for what I did and I want to change for the better.

    I will use the information posted here and ask for help immediately.

    Thank you once again.

    1. Gabriel: Wherever you live, find a meeting and explain how you feel to the group. You won’t be saying anything they haven’t heard before. I know if it was me, after a couple of days I would be thinking, maybe i’m making too much of this alcohol thing and regretfully give it another try. If you are being completely honest, then so will I. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous it says, “there is no such thing as making a normal drinker out of an Alcoholic” (p. 31). Get a B.B. and read that chapter. It will explain the 1st step. In the beginning of the B.B. the Doctor’s Opinion explains the uncontrollable phenomenon of craving and why we drink. Being an Alcoholic is not a horrible thing, not doing something about it is. I am a grateful Recovered Alcoholic and new my life has just begun. At 20 years old you can too be happy, joyous and free for the next 80 years. Hang in there, Good Luck Brother, AA is a blast once the miracle happens. If you stick too it you’ll someday see what I mean, that’s a promise, Brian..

  25. Sober 24 years through AA . Lived in the PI for about 5 years. In Texas now . Many meetings in Texas. Much long term sobriety . But, the PI needs more AA meetings and a more positive attitude toward the Alcohol problem . In a country of about 100 million , 10 million in Manila , AA practically hardly exists. In any English speaking country , the AA directory is the size of a small phone book. Many AA Club Houses. Extensive re-hab programs. Not the PI . PI men seem to be content to sit around the Sari-Sari drinking cheap Ginebra until they die. The families watch them die. ” shabu ” , meth-amphetamine is widely used , also. Read the Big Book of AA . The Answers are all there. But, a person has to ” want ” sobriety. The First Step of AA says that. Oh. A lot of AA meetings in Pampanga in the Red Light area. POST # 10 , American Legion. Contact Dave or Pat. Big group.

  26. I think one of the big reasons for the sobriety struggle in PI is because of the hopelessness there. Here we can get sober and achieve anything. In the Philippines thanks to the corruption and the rich getting richer, some people think whats the use. The only reason I can see to get sober in PI is to help others. I know that would probably work for me. My wife said its too hard because of the culture difference. Filipinos are strong and proud and have trouble admitting a weakness. Now after saying that, I don’t want everyone beating on my comment. I had trouble trying to figure it out also. Half of my wifes family are probably drunk right now. Those are the best reasons I could come up with. I’m sure we are not the first to try to make sobriety strong in PI since 1935.

  27. Expat & Alcoholic in Makati

    Bahala na! Filipinos are fatalistic, di ba? Stick around in AA long enough in any country, and it’s easy to acquire the same attitude. I’ve witnessed so many friends past/present go back out that I react by counting my blessings — then, I say something like, “Come what may!” If the most natural thing in the world for an alcoholic is to drink, then the most un-natural thing in the world for an alcoholic is to NOT take a drink. I’m less than a micron-traveling-at-the-speed-of-light away from taking my next drink … in my head.

    “Therefore, the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than in his body.” (p.23)
    “I knew from that moment I had an alcoholic mind.” (p.42)

    “But for the Grace of God …”

  28. guys, i have a friend who has been in rehab centers. I came across with this AA. Is AA some kind of A REHAB? my friend doesnt want to go to rehab anymore. I see that his life is already ruined with alcoholism. Awang-awa na nga ako sa kanya pati sa family nya. I am looking forward to hear from you. pls do get in touch. we really need serious help. thanks. i need someone to talk too regarding alcoholism.

    blessings,

    jemuel

    1. Expat & Alcoholic in Makati

      If your friend already spent time in rehab, then he/she should already have information on attending meetings, or even how to contact someone who knows about the meetings. Desperation is a good place to be.

  29. Go to http://www.AA.org and you can read the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous online. The Doctors Opinion will explain why the Alcoholic gets the phenomenon of craving and why we can’t leave it alone. Chap 1 is Bill Wilson’s story (founder of AA), and what it was like for him. Chap 2 is “There is a solution”, which is what we can do about or malady. And chap. 3 is all about the 1st step of our 12-step recovery program. Reading this a couple of times will help you understand the AA program. The AA preamble which is read at the start of most meetings reads: AA is a fellowship of men and women who shair their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help othersto recover from Alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a disire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, poltics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety. (End). AA is a simple yet not easy program, our whole program is outlined in the first 164 pages of the book of Alcoholics Anonymous (Big Book). The only thing is that the alcoholic has to want to quit, that’s the hard part. When they decide they have had enough, that is when AA works. Good Luck with your friend, Brian..

  30. hi im a girlfriend of an alcoholic and i really am that desperate of looking for a way so my boyfriend would change and recover..we’ve been together for 6 yrs and his addiction started like 2 yrs ago..I really dont know what to do ‘coz sometimes I’m in the point of leaving him but I can’t coz my conscience is stopping me–for you know He had a lot of issues especially when it comes to FAMILY..I also know for a fact that I love him that’s why I dont wanna leave him esp now that i know he needs me the most. He always tells me when he’s sober that he wanted to change,and I see him trying, its just that sometimes he can’t. Right know, Im thinkin’ of rehab but I dont know where and how much would it cost..So pls if there’s anyone who can read this up, pls give me some advice or info about how I could end up his adddiction..thanks!!

    1. Expat & Alcoholic in Makati

      Leave him as fast as you can !!! Girls always stick around because of the emotional struggle — but eventually you will get so sucked-into his dilemma, you will get sick in a different kind of way. In fact, my bet is that you are already sick, and that’s why you’re bargaining with yourself to stick around and see if things improve. It has to get worse before it gets better … otherwise, why would any REAL alcoholic want to quit drinking? I mean, if booze still works (even a little bit), it isn’t over. Addiction causes a lot of “insane” collateral damage, and that’s what you’re going to experience in the wake of his suffering. Even better, you’re setting yourself up for failure when the next drunk shows up on your doorstep. I should know, my name is Marc and I’m an Alcoholic.

      1. is that the only way? cmon if u’re an alcoholic u should know wat he’s going through..thanks for the message anyway.. i need more but pls try to empathize..thanks..

  31. One thing you could do is to make sure he is aware of the program of Alcoholics Anonymous. You can’t make an Alcoholic stop drinking because that is what you wish. He needs to want to stop. Don’t feel guilty about anything, you have to do what you have to do. You do not need to go down with him. You should get a copy of the book Alcoholics Anonymous so maybe you could understand the disease a little bit better. Try to leave the book where he may see it and may want to pick it up himself. You might want to find where the nearest AA group meets and contact that group to see if someone there could help. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous can be found on line at http://www.aa.org and you’ll also find much more helpful info. Remember, you didn’t cause his disease, and can niether control it or cure it. Good Luck, Brian..

  32. Pls let me know wher AA meetings are held coz I’ve been searching but all i can find are addresses. Im not that sure coz there’s no dates included, Maybe that was a mmeting a long time ago. Thanks for the message anyway!! it helps

    1. Expat & Alcoholic in Makati

      “hi im a girlfriend of an alcoholic and i really am that desperate of looking for a way so my boyfriend would change and recover”

      If you were desperate, you would do whatever it takes to leave your boyfriend, find a meeting, study recovery from Alcoholism and Addiction for yourself, or better yet … read about the pain, suffering (and your own enabling behavior) other women experienced because they wanted to change their significant whoever and recover. The latter can be studied simply by reading the BigBook of AA — but you probably won’t even get that far. It may feel like you’re alone but millions of women throughout the course of history have experienced similar fates as you will eventually learn for yourself. Your story is not unique and your plight is extremely common. The only thing that’s unique is your DNA but that’s just a combination of everyone who came before you. So, I guess there’s nothing unique about you at all.

      “So pls if there’s anyone who can read this up, pls give me some advice or info about how I could end up his adddiction..thanks!!”

      You are receiving advice from recovering alcoholics who’ve “been there and done that” but it’s not what you expected, and/or not what you want to hear. No one can change your own denial/acceptance — just like no one can change your boyfriend’s. I can’t do anything except share my own experience strength and hope, which includes divorce, jail, 3 rehab centers, car accidents, 2 failed careers, attempted suicide, and 13 years in AA. If you think I can’t empathize with you, then you are as lost as your boyfriend. Good luck.

    2. I’m sorry that the “Expat” guy is so angry. Not all AA’s are that intense. You can go to an AAyahoo chat room, i’ll get the address so I can send it. What is your e-mail address. I’ll have an easier time to help you. Just to let you know my wife is from Pangasinan, Lelemaan. If you contact me with your e-mail, maybe my wife and I can call you on the phone and help more. I know its hard to find meetings in the Philippines,, but i’ll help you. See Ya, Brian and Erna. PS where do you live??

  33. Just got back from a pot-luck speaker meeting. It was OK and I identified with the speaker towards the end. I still enjoy discussion meetings more. I guess I was feeling a little bit serious tonight and the speaker tried to make everyone laugh continuously. Guess maybe I was not in as good of a fit spiritual condition as I thought I was. Anyway, woke up sober this morning, got on my knees and asked God for another sober day. Tonight i’ll get back on my knees and thank God again for the sober day I was granted. Goodnight to all!!

    1. Hello, you could invite an alcoholic guest speaker to address your company. The thing is, the only people who could identify with that alcoholic would actually have to be an alcoholic. An alcohol awareness program would be more in order. It may help you and your supervisors to read the chapter in the Big Book of Alcoholic Anonymous which is titled “To the Employers”. If you are having a problem with a number of good employees that you are trying to keep, you may want to start an AA meeting at your company during lunch, or before or after work. This meeting would have to be started by an active AA member who knows how the program is actually suppose to be run. Once again, the thing is, the people you are trying to address have to want to be part of it. Good Luck, Brian..

  34. A lot of contact names and numbers and meeting times and places have changed since 2006. Here’s the link of the yahoo group of AA Philippines:

    http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/AAPhilippines/

    If anyone is interested please join the group. Once a member, you can access DATABASE where the List of meetings and contacts will be found. Metro Manila is under NCR. You may leave the group anytime you wish. Thanks and May your God be with you, one day at a time.

    Teena M.

  35. Im a 46year old man, swedish national but now residing in Cavite Philippines with my much loved wife who is a Filipina. Im a sober alcoholic since some years back, though i had som relapses on my thorny way to sobriety, alcohol ruined so much in my life i have a hard time grasping it. I like to meet others in similar situation and experience. Warm regards to all of you reading this and still fighting with hope of a better life/ Peter

    1. Hello Peter, you have similar situation with my husband, he is still drinking at the moment and I don’t know what to do with him, he is a british national and we live in siargao island on the beach, at the beginning he just felt he is on holiday everyday until his drinking become worse, he started binge drinking, perhaps if you are still out of the wagon you can contact him by email, perhaps if ever he still lives and actually have the courage to stop he will be able to read his email from you and you can talk to each other. I just want to detach from him now to avoid our son to become like him. I am still concerned as he is the father of my son.

    2. Hello Peter, you have similar situation with my husband, he is still drinking at the moment and I don’t know what to do with him, he is a british national and we live in siargao island on the beach, at the beginning he just felt he is on holiday everyday until his drinking become worse, he started binge drinking, perhaps if you are still out of the wagon you can contact him by email, perhaps if ever he still lives and actually have the courage to stop he will be able to read his email from you and you can talk to each other. I just want to detach from him now to avoid our son to become like him. I am still concerned as he is the father of my son.

  36. pls help me what to do about my boyfriend who is super alcoholic,, i dont know where are rehabs here for alcoholism and how much will it cost,, as in where he can stay out of drinking,, where he can stay for a week or a month without alcohol

  37. pls help me what to do about my boyfriend who is super alcoholic,, i dont know where are rehabs here for alcoholism and how much will it cost,, as in where he can stay out of drinking,, where he can stay for a week or a month without alcohol

  38. I have a brother and a nephew who are alcoholics in the Philippines.It causes a lot of problem to my family especially to my old mother.I am far away from them can’t do anything except for sending money for their living but with the effects of drinking we are right now in financially as well as mentally and emotionally troubled.I am writing to ask help.I don’t know how to start.By the way they live in Aklan.Thanks i found this site.

  39. Two members of my family were alcoholics.It cause too much problem especially to my mom.I am far away from them and all i can help is to send money for my mom for their living but because of alcohol problems,we are now financially,emotionally and mentally troubled.They lived in Aklan,Philippines.I don’t really know when to start.I think it’s time to ask help.Thanks i found this site.

    1. Bonjour Glenda! we are actually on the same boat, i have also a brother who is an alcoholic thus causing lots of trouble for the family for a couple of years now. I pity my parents because they are too old to be suffering from such kind of dilemma. I couldn’t help but to send money for the medical expenses of my brother but the worst thing is despite of all the therapies he couldn’t still stop his vice, it’s indeed a waste of money that’s why sometimes i really get mad @ him. It’s a good thing i was able to come across your blog hoping that we will be able to find a solution to our problem. God bless!

  40. Hei i have a daugther and shes using both alcohol and drugs, she started when she was 15 years old, and until now at the aged of 21 , my worst nightmare is idont want to see my daughters dead body because of overdose or she tok her own life.. imaybe blamed of what happend to her now, because iwasnt there for her and ill gave her only the materiall tings.. because i think as a mother u must be a good provider to her children and if i dont work were we can get a food on the table and their cloths to wear.
    itryd her to put in school she just attended her class for only a month, she never got home on time or else the day after and shes very tired when she got home..
    some haved tryed to communicate with her but its seems your just talk to a maniquine..
    she nice and very pretty, its just that if her body wanting this drugs shes not in herslef she do what ever she wanted going out in the middle of the nigth. for to find a bit of that stone to take..
    at the aged of 16 idid tryd to be with her picking her up with her freinds both girl n boy, on the party until i invite all her freinds im my house when i was on work,an let them to undesrtand that no ones mother wants their children in pain and not be loved.. i reall need her to put in a AA meeting so that she can star a new life and explore the beauty of life make a new beggining.. she has a lot of potential in life, i want her to be out in this situation where she is now.. i want her to know that we love her idid the besat for her but for her it wasnt enough.. so ireally need an advise where do i start, and how /what will i do to make her change…
    thanks
    with regards
    from Norway with love 431965

  41. hello there! my name is nathaniel, 32, i am an alcoholic. i drink A LOT. i got into lots of financial and emotional problems because of drinking. i am married for 2 years now but our marriage is suffering because of my drinking. we fight most of the time, i in turn turn to drinking to forget problems. but i’m quite sure most of my problems started because i abuse alcohol. in short… my life is a living hell because of alcohol. ive started drinking when i was 14, but not until i was in college that i really abused alcohol. i think i have a special case though …. because i can go for days without drinking 12-14 days wihout drinking. i always promise myself never to drink anymore, because once i start to drink, i just can’t stop. i can go for 8 days straight, drinking in the morning , noon, night, till the break of dawn. i am currently in my 2nd day of being sober, i stay at home most of the time cos, i have no job and i just finished taking up this short course. i decided to try quitting again, but this time my mother wants me in rehab. i want to try AA first. i heard there are AA sessions held in Baguio City. Its at Bahay Silungan near SM baguio just beside NBI. i’m not sure about their schedule yet so i’ planning to visit there real soon. if all things are settled i plan on renting a small room in baguio so i could attend the AA meetings. i’m sick and tired of getting drunk and living like a loser i want to get things straight this time.

    wish me luck folks! thanks for your time reading!

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