Alex’s sobriety journey in rural South Dakota
Published July 25, 2024
Alcohol addiction came into Alex’s life after three people close to him died within one year.
“It just started building. In 2021, one of my best friends got killed on his motorcycle. He was my go-to guy when I needed to talk,” he said. “It went sideways from there.”
It wasn’t long before Alex’s nightly routine included going to the bar in his small South Dakota town.
“My girlfriend kept telling me, ‘You need to quit drinking.’ I tried, but it’s hard,” he said. “When you have a problem, you don’t know what the hell you’re doing. You basically live off a 30 rack or a bottle.”
After Alex and his girlfriend broke up, he started drinking even more. He tried quitting on his own multiple times.
“I tried doing it on my own, and I would do good for a while, then I’d go up to the bar start up again,” he said. “I had a lot of anxiety, depression, PTSD. It was probably six or eight months before I realized I needed to go to the doctor.”
Alex wasn’t sleeping; he was irritable “all the time.” He met with a doctor who prescribed a medication that helped him start to slow down his drinking. He was also able to stop smoking cigarettes.
Early in his sobriety, Alex couldn’t be around alcohol. Now, when he goes over to his neighbor’s house, he’ll drink non-alcoholic beer. They’ll try the new ones he finds and call another friend who comes to over to grab some.
“You can have fun without drinking. I kind of knew that, but I didn’t,” he said.
Every time Alex tries a new NA beer, he sends a picture to his Face It TOGETHER coach, Erik.
“For a while, we were having a competition on (who could find the best) NA beer,” he said.
Alex said he views Erik as a friend who he can share anything with.
“He helps me out,” he said. “I can tell him about anything and if he doesn’t have a solution, he tries to think of a solution. That’s what helped.”
In addition to discovering fun, Alex is also able to take pride in his work now that he’s sober. He’s back in agriculture, working outside and running equipment.
“I love it,” he said. “I can work seven days a week during busy season, and I don’t have a problem with it. It keeps my mind busy.”
This fall, Alex will be celebrating two years of sobriety. He’s in a good place and he gets to enjoy camping and bonfires with his family.
“That helps a lot, camping with them. I talk to my one brother daily,” he said. “Things are good.”