"Uncovering the First Step of Alcoholics Anonymous: A Personal Journey"

“We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable” the first step of AA that I lived with for 2 years without knowing that it existed somewhere in this world.

I have drunk alcohol for over 10 years and I used it as a source of confidence to approach ladies and also be able to dance in a night club without fear of public opinion.

The journey to my rock bottom started during the second lockdown when I was a student at Makerere University Business School in 2021, I received the news when I was with a group of friends at one of their places. The next day, I made a phone call home to my parents for transport to travel back to Gulu since we were only given 3 days for public means to travel back to our home districts by a presidential guideline.

On my way back, I bought a “gun” of Uganda waragi and we jointly drunk it with my friends all the way not knowing that it was my transport fare that we were drinking.

I reached Gulu and promised a colleague to help me make payments while I would pay him back at an appropriate time.

I proceeded to the depot of beers and liquor and bought another gun of UG, then drunk it with some other friends as a welcome party.

I placed my luggage on a boda and drunk for a whole week without reaching home.

I sold off my phone because money was done and I also drunk all the money then I had to walk till our home which was about 4kms from town.

I reached home with fear and I locked myself in my room, a few hours later, I started having hallucinations, that the neighbors together with my dad had ganged up outside with sticks ready to beat me up.

I started shouting aloud for help and forgiveness in my room yet there were no people outside. My siblings started peeping the windows to check what was happening and I was taken to the hospital by my mother for help and I was claiming that I had cerebral malaria.

I had more hallucinations at night and I disturbed the doctors the whole night till morning where I went through convulsion and I bit my tongue which almost took my life.

I woke up with wounds in my tongue and I was narrated to about the convulsion by my sister.

I was referred to PACTA Uganda (treatment center) for help by the doctors and my parents sought for consent from me which I instantly accepted without compromise. I was taken there and from the treatment center is where I got the spiritual healing I really needed for a long time. All my life, I thought that my drank life was my personal weakness yet I was suffering from alcoholism which I got to know that the disease is incurable.

I learnt a lot from the treatment center and I got to know that the only way to leave longer in this world was to stop drinking alcohol before it ruined my future and it takes my life.

I read several stories of people who stopped drinking, I equally learnt from those at the treatment center who were suffering addicts that had lost jobs, lost their families, got diseases like liver illnesses, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and so many other diseases.

It opened my eyes and the fact that the head of the treatment center was also an alcoholic, was a strong motivation for me to stop drinking.

I got out of the treatment center and openly told my friends of how I almost lost my life because of alcohol and that I had stopped drinking.

Most of them left me and I started making new friends who had better lifestyles. I changed my course and started pursing law at a different university.

I got so many better ways of using money other than drinking which has really changed my life.

I also contested to become the guild president of my university and I successfully won the guild race.

I am really grateful for my sober life, today I am alcohol free and I am so happy that I no longer drink. I am 3 years sober!

Sobriety is indeed GOLD!

This article is written by:

Aaron

Alcoholics Anonymous