I’ll just quit cold turkey he said.
He made the decision right there and then.
In his mind, he knew what he was doing and how he would solve this mess.
After all, isn’t that why he was in this situation to begin with?
He was 14 when he had his first sip.
The boys in his group were passing the peppermint Schnapps between them.
“I snatched it from my Dad’s cabinet” the oldest boy in the group proclaimed proudly.
Most kids this age don’t understand the risks involved with drinking so young.
There is an air of excitement and danger to the whole thing.
For some kids though…
The effects are ruthless.
Alcohol addiction is odd like that. It doesn’t always hook you like everyone else. It sinks it’s hooks right into your very being.
From that day onward life never was the same for him.
Life was always about the next drink.
It went on this way for at least 1 divorce, 1 drunk driving convinction and a job he lost (even though he swore he wasn’t drinking on the job).
When he hit rock bottom…
That’s when he decided to quit cold turkey.
The problem with this?
Within 12 hours he was dead.
Because he didn’t reach out for help.
Because he didn’t approach his sobriety and recovery using professional resources.
Because he tried to do it alone.
One grand mal seizure was all it took.
If you're thinking about quitting alcohol cold turkey you need to know the risks involved. The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) warns that 3-5 percent of individuals will struggle with grand mal convulsions, delirium (significant confusion), or both.