In this month of January with Dry January, we are interested in a movement that has existed for 40 years in Polynesia. Alcoholics Anonymous has been holding meetings since 1985. Once a week, they meet in premises lent by Father Christophe, in Papeete. This Tuesday evening, January 14, there were three members and they agreed to share their life experiences. Curing alcoholism, a long road they have traveled, not without difficulty.
Alcoholism is a disease, did you know that? It is a progressive disease. Marc testifies to this. At first, he just drank on Friday evenings with friends. Then it was every weekend, from Friday to Sunday.
His romantic relationships suffered, his family life too. He started Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and through them, for twelve years, he remained sober. Before relapsing last year, in 2024.
Marc explains: « With the experience I have gained with Alcoholics Anonymous, I know what the end is. For me, for us, it is death. In any form. Accident, depression, suicide. And that’s in the testimonies of all alcoholics who have relapsed. This is because, when they start again, little by little, they will pick up their alcoholism where they left it. And I didn’t wait, I quickly came back, and there I hung on, like a newcomer. »
Since he started attending meetings again, Marc has been sober for 7 months now.
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©Polynésie La 1ère / Jérôme Lee
Marie drank to forget her depression. Despite having a loving son and husband, alcohol drove him to suicide. After two attempts, it clicked. She then comes across a show about Alcoholics Anonymous. A year later, she decided to call them.
Marie recounts what she experienced: “ After a year, I went to my first meeting. And then, from there, I stayed. Because I found people who were happy, who had a smile. And I finally had the feeling of no longer being some kind of alien. My father died two months after I stopped drinking. I had two members of Alcoholics Anonymous come to support me. But the idea of drinking didn’t occur to me. Because I knew, in fact, that it was the origin of all my problems. »
Since that day, it has been 35 years since Marie has drunk a drop of alcohol.
Christine hesitated for a long time before calling the Alcoholics Anonymous helpline. Fifteen years later, she remembers why. « I was not an alcoholic. I had a little problem, I knew it. I had had excesses. But, in my head, even in my body, in my heart, I was not an alcoholic. But hey, I could see that they had something that I didn’t have. So I went to the meetings. And little by little, I accepted that I was one of the people who, if they have one drink, will have several, will have excesses » relate Christine.
Alcoholics Anonymous can be reached at any time, at 40.43.21.63.
Thanks to this completely free therapy, Christine, Marc and Marie have found the path to sobriety, but above all, to freedom.
