Recovering alcoholic from Felixstowe urges people to check in on how much alcohol they're drinking
A charity's warning some people could be risking their health by unknowingly overconsuming alcohol
Last updated 4th Jul 2024
A recovering alcoholic from Felixstowe's encouraging people to think about how much alcohol they're drinking.
It's as new data from charity Drinkaware shows two thirds of adult drinkers in the UK – an estimated 30 million people – have never been asked to check in on how much they're consuming - to see whether they're risking their health by unknowingly overconsuming.
Karen Tyrell, Chief Executive of Drinkaware, said: "We are used to regularly checking our eyesight or going to the dentist, so we should be doing the same for our drinking."
Sam's Story
Sam Phillips, from Felixstowe, started drinking at 13-years-old.
He suffered from health anxiety and after taking a sip of cider with his friends, tells us all his "fears and anxieties floated away."
He says he developed a dependence on alcohol very quickly: "I remember thinking this must be what normal feels like to normal people, all my fears and anxiety just floated away."
He started binge drinking, and "couldn't wait" for the weekend so he could release the mental anguish he was facing: "I thought the alcohol was my medicine."
By the time Sam was 19 years-old, he was drinking daily and taking drugs: "I got very good at hiding it.
"I was manipulating people around me into thinking I was all right when I wasn't."
Sam tells us, even deep in addiction, he knew it wasn't healthy: "It is a quick release, and it does relieve you from your symptoms but when you sober up then your fears and anxieties are ten times heightened.
"That's when you start reaching for more alcohol (to get rid of those feelings) and then you build up a dependency."
As time went on Sam's substance abuse severely impacted his mental health: "The drink and drugs caused a lot of emotional damage... and there was a point in my life where I didn't want to be here anymore.
"I just felt like I was being a burden to everyone who cared about me and I just couldn't cope with the thoughts and the feelings anymore."
Sam says he decided to make a change when his daughter was born: "I've got two beautiful little girls and my eldest is 13.
"When she was born, I thought to myself, I've got to hang around.
"I don't want to not be here for their future, I don't want to leave them here without a dad.
" I wanted to be the best version of myself, not just for them but for my family as well."
"Recovery is not easy, but it is worth it"
In the last 13 years, Sam tells us his recovery hasn't been linear, and there have been times when he has relapsed, but he takes comfort in knowing he has been sober longer he hasn't since his first daughter was born: "Recovery is not easy, but it is worth it.
"The days I had in active addiction are ten times worse than any bad day I had in recovery."
To help with his recovery, Sam explained he needed help from others: "The opposite to addiction is connection and I've connected with people and found people that are further down the line than me, so I can use their wisdom and experience when I've got an issue."
He has also goes to meetings and has found cold water therapy helpful, explaining he finds it helps manage his panicked feelings.
Alongside this, Sam started a challenge of taking a cold water dip in the sea everyday for a year as an act of awareness for mental health and to raise money for Anxiety UK.
By the end of the year, Sam had around 400 people joining him.
He has also started a podcast and is organising a sober event in Felixstowe called "Bash at the Beach."
We asked what benefits he has seen from being sober: "The ripple effect it's had on my friends and family. I am very present today, my mind was full of toxicity before, which robbed my presence from my family... I was so engrossed in anxiety and fear that I couldn't be truly present.
"I make memories now, I don't lose any."