Sophie’s Alcohol Addiction and Journey to Sobriety

Twelve detox attempts, countless relapses, and a life on the brink – this is the story of how Sophie found freedom in recovery.

I was admitted to 12 detox programs before I started my recovery. My name is Sophie, and this is my story:

When I first started working, there was a very distinct culture and set of social behaviours associated with drinking alcohol.

It was normal to go to functions or lunches and drink.

It was normal to have a drink while you cooked dinner.

I was career driven, married and had a family. Drinking alcohol day and night was never seen as a problem.

My husband passed away unexpectedly, and I was given a prescription for benzodiazepines to help with my anxiety. It wasn’t long before my drinking escalated rapidly; to the point where going to work was a mission I considered impossible.

The days were the same. I was either awake drinking or passed out from drinking.

This was my life for a 6-year period.

In the span of 6 years, I had stints of detoxing 12 separate times. It always looked the same – go to a detox program, come out a month later and relapse.

I had been to Hader Clinic Queensland in the past for a 28-day detox in 2022. I thought I was different, and I didn’t need to continue in rehab.

I then went to another facility for detox a little while later. I was told I wasn’t an alcoholic; I was someone who simply used alcohol to cope. This was an exciting justification for me. After a month, I came home and started drinking within 2 days.

Most facilities and programs I have been to have been too lenient. Every time I got a gap of leave, I would jump at the opportunity (any opportunity) to have a drink. For some reason, my brain thought drinking meant I was free. When in reality, it wasn’t freedom at all.

In 2023, I was taken to the hospital as my skin had turned yellow and I had lost the use of my legs. After detoxing in the hospital, I was admitted to another rehab center where I was smuggling wine in and drinking inside the rehab. My liver luckily, hadn’t reached cirrhosis and I was able to recover. But even he treat of death didn’t stop me.

The only time I didn’t drink was when I was in a facility where it wasn’t accessible.

It was a cycle of addiction that I couldn’t escape from. My support network was diminishing, and I had lost all the relationships I had with my children.

I initiated going to Hader Clinic Queensland on my own. No one pushed me to go or told me it was what I needed. I went because I knew I had to, and I needed to stay the full 12 weeks this time.

When I arrived for check in, I was drunk. I had a water bottle full of wine and I tried to negotiate for over half an hour to keep it with me. Thankfully, I lost that battle.

Having been to rehab and Hader Clinic Queensland before, I needed to be stripped back by a hardline approach. I knew I would have my phone taken away and be given timeframes of when I could speak to my family. Knowing this, made my first few days in the program easier.

In the first 28 days, you spend a week detoxing. You then spend the next 2 weeks learning about the program and the final week preparing to go home. It isn’t long enough.

Once I passed 28 days and went to the rehab, the support and passion from the staff is above and beyond. All they want is recovery for you. You can hear that in everything that is said to you. What helped me the most was the fact that most of the staff are in recovery, and I felt validated in my experience. I saw the staff as mentors guiding me through the start of a journey they knew well.

After my 5^th week, something really shifted for me. I surrendered completely to the program and did everything I was told to do. I realised that I had nothing left to lose and I didn’t need to get out in a hurry.

I started listening rather than putting my hand up and proving I knew what the theory was. I had to set aside the attitude I held of ‘I know everything, I have been here before’ and admit the fact that I didn’t actually know anything at all because if I did, I wouldn’t be here again.

The meetings became more powerful night after night, and it was everything I needed to hear to start taking control of my life again.

As I got closer to completing the 12-week program, I started to worry. I was so used to leaving programs and relapsing. I was terrified. Hader Clinic Queensland had been providing me with around the clock support and abstinence. How would I continue that at home?

I worked really hard on my exit plan. This was important for me. Rosie and Mark made sure I was leaving with contingency plans for every possible scenario that may arise.

A week after completing the 12-week rehabilitation program at Hader Clinic Queensland, I had two glasses of wine. I didn’t like the taste, it made me tired, and I instantly felt anxious. For me, these were probably the most important 2 glasses of wine I have ever had in my life. They solidified how much I wanted recovery.

Straight away, I rang my sponsor, and I went to a meeting that night.

I have lived my whole life by a schedule and diary. I have made the mistake in the past of leaving rehabs expecting to follow a precise and detailed tick box routine. I mirrored the Hader Clinic Queensland schedule for a few weeks when I got home because I knew it was failproof.

It’s helpful for me to go over my exit plan every now and then to remind myself of what triggers may have surfaced that week and what areas I need to target to stay on track with my recovery.

It has taken a while, but I have finally started to do things without even considering alcohol. I go shopping, do the groceries, go to the gym. These are all things I would have never done or been sober for. The mental obsession for alcohol is finally gone.

I was so busy from when I started working to when I couldn’t work because of my addiction, that I have never really had a life. Being sober, I want to travel and experience the world. I have my children back in my life and am renovating my house.

When I was almost ready to leave the program, I saw a lot of new people check in. They were angry, hated the structure and always felt there was something wrong. Some of these people ended up leaving the program and I know they have relapsed.

Once you get to Hader Clinic Queensland, you might think that it’s the worst place on Earth and it’s the worst decision you have ever made. If you give it time and your commitment, it will be the best decision you have ever made. It is so important to stick it out and give your sobriety the biggest nudge you can. Unless you do the full program, you won’t get the full experience.

Names and photographs of this client may have been changed to protect their privacy.

Dr Mel Symon

Director, Hader Group QLD

Dr Mel Symon is the Director of Hader Group QLD, leading both Hader Clinic Queensland and Hader Clinic Queensland Private. With more than 30 years of experience in human services and over 20 years as a founder and business leader, Mel has played a central role in establishing and growing Queensland’s leading addiction treatment services.

Mel holds a PhD in Addiction Treatment from the University of Queensland, along with a Master of Mental Health, Master of Professional Management, and a Bachelor of Social Science. Since 2016, she has overseen the development of the 40-bed Hader Clinic Queensland residential rehabilitation program and, in 2021, the creation and opening of the 25-bed Hader Clinic Queensland Private Hospital.

Passionate about lifelong recovery, Mel is dedicated to evidence-based care, meaningful change, and supporting individuals to rebuild their lives through sustainable recovery pathways.

sss