A new life after alcohol dries up

By Tania Martin
A MENZIES Creek man has warned hills people of the dangers of over indulging with alcohol this Christmas.
Ian Gasson, a recovering alcoholic, says there is life without alcohol.
As the festive season approaches Mr Gasson has urged people to think seriously before drinking to excess.
He said that enjoying time with family and friends was always more important than over indulging with alcohol.
“In our Australian culture, alcohol is widely misused especially during times of celebration like Christmas and New Years Eve,” he said.
“But let this Christmas be a time for celebration, not regrets.”
Mr Gasson said he first realised he had a problem with drinking to excess in December last year.
For the past eight years Mr Gasson has been slowly sliding into alcoholism after losing several close family members.
In 1998 Mr Gasson’s father died and the following year his sister died which had an impact on his downhill slide.
Following the death of his sister in 1999, Mr Gasson was again dealt a blow when he had to give up his job as a computer technician and music teacher to care for his mother who was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2001.
His mother died on Christmas night in 2002 but six months later Mr Gasson dusted himself off and was ready to return to work.
Mr Gasson had decided to go back to school to further his education but he soon found that he was unable to cope with either work or study.
He said over the years with all the tragedies that he had to face his alcohol consumption increased steadily.
But it wasn’t until December last year did he realise that his drinking was out of hand.
Mr Gasson was drinking up to two casks of wine a week.
“As many people in our culture do I turned to alcohol for comfort,” he said.
Mr Gasson said it was on Friday 1 December 2006, that he was given a sign from God that it was time to stop drinking.
“I am not a religious person but it was a God-like moment that made me realise what I was doing and stop drinking,” he said.
“I remember standing over the bin with an empty cask in my hand and it came to me – I don’t need this any more and since then I haven’t touched a drop.”
Mr Gasson said he went off the alcohol ‘cold turkey’ without any help from any support groups – only his wife, Jacinta, was there to help him.
Since giving up alcohol Mr Gasson has lost more than 25 kilograms and is now back to exercising three times a week and loving life.
He now wants to spread the message that there is life without alcohol and help others to realise that they too can give it up.