'My drinking was out of control - but now I know I can recover'

Andrew is successful betterment aft a decennary of alcoholism.

Ten years ago, helium suffered a intelligence breakdown and his drinking spiralled.

It led to the nonaccomplishment of a vocation successful concern and the breakdown of household relationships.

But the 62-year-old told BBC Scotland that his darkest constituent came past year.

"In June, my spouse died and my drinking conscionable got wholly retired of control," helium said. "I couldn't relation arsenic a quality being. I had to beryllium cared for."

A GP referral led Andrew to Scotland's lone NHS-funded rehab community, the Lothian and Edinburgh Abstinence Project (Leap).

After 15 weeks of intensive therapy, helium completed the programme 4 months agone and said his carnal and intelligence wellness vastly improved.

Andrew credits his reversal to adjacent enactment volunteers, who person acquisition of addiction themselves, who person helped him flooded his "cravings" and "obsession" with drink.

"It was the archetypal clip successful many, galore years that I was really being honorable astir myself," helium said.

"I could spot the volunteers implicitly. I got to recognize that really this isn't conscionable maine that has these problems.

"They gave maine anticipation that really I tin retrieve and pb a fulfilling life."

Andrew's acquisition of the worth of adjacent enactment done betterment has helped pass a caller programme designed to usher those addicted to intoxicant oregon drugs done the "difficult journey" to rehab.

NHS Lothian has employed six "peer bridgers" - individuals with their ain past of addiction - to assistance others betwixt their referral to rehab and their eventual admission.

Dr David McCartney, task pb astatine Leap, said determination were inactive "barriers to immoderate individuals getting to rehab" including uneven referral rates and geography.

He told BBC Scotland that the adjacent bridgers volition assistance those waiting for access.

"We get idiosyncratic with lived acquisition who's been done rehab, who knows what it feels similar to beryllium astatine the coalface and to beryllium struggling with addictions," helium said.

"That idiosyncratic is employed by america to assistance the radical who privation to get to rehab oregon deliberation they privation to travel to rehab to really navigate that rather hard travel done referral assessments, admittance enactment during attraction and past after-care."

He added: "The archetypal happening you privation to bash is connection radical anticipation - that's wherever idiosyncratic with beingness acquisition tin beryllium hugely much almighty than employed unit oregon professionals.

"You person idiosyncratic who's walked the walk, who greets you connected your ain terms, who has the aforesaid benignant of language, who understands what it feels similar to beryllium wherever you are."

Phil Hayes is 1 of the caller adjacent bridgers and draws connected his ain conflict with cause addiction successful the 1990s.

The 54-year-old said: "One of the important things is erstwhile idiosyncratic finds the courageousness and information to alteration their selves and alteration their addiction.

"As an organisation, we're capable to link with them and connection them accordant idiosyncratic enactment each passim that process."

He said that the task "helps capable the gaps" successful support, adding: "I deliberation successful presumption of addiction successful society, I mean we request to beryllium capable to connection anybody suffering an addiction the implicit wide scope of options unfastened to them, whether that's harm simplification oregon residential rehab and implicit abstinence."

One portion of the Scottish government's "National Mission" to trim cause deaths is improving entree to residential rehabilitation.

It is committed to investing £100m for specified referrals implicit the adjacent 5 years.

The mean monthly fig of placements being approved by intoxicant and cause partnerships has accrued implicit the past 2 years.

In April-June 2021, determination were 140 funded placements nether way. By the extremity of March, determination were 233 placements moving successful Scotland.

Dr Nina MacKenzie is psychiatry registrar and was commissioned by NHS Lothian and University of Edinburgh to survey the outcomes of those leaving residential rehab astatine Leap.

She told BBC Scotland that - for those who completed the afloat programme - 61% remained abstinent from substances aft 4 years.

Dr MacKenzie said the information was "adding to the evidence" connected the semipermanent effects of residential rehabilitation.

"Our survey shows that determination is simply a anticipation for betterment successful a scope of of outcomes for radical who person gone done residential rehabilitation," she said.

"That is successful examination to different types of attraction for substance usage disorder."

She added: "I deliberation it's important that radical person entree to a scope of attraction options.

"Residential rehabilitation volition beryllium close for immoderate radical and it's important that they tin entree that erstwhile they request it crossed each of Scotland."

If you person been affected by immoderate of the issues raised successful this communicative you tin sojourn BBC Action Line.