Tom: Downfall of a Functioning Alcoholic 

Alcohol and cigarettes addiction actually destroyed my life. I could remember several years ago after divorce with my wife which brought me into my disastrous journey on Alcohol and cigarettes. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Got diagnosed with cptsd. Not until a friend recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.

I was a gutter Alcoholic and became sober in 2003..I am now an Artist and a Musician...

I am 39 and today I have admitted I am an alcoholic! I have lost my freedom in the past because of this and I've also had so many family issues. My life is a mess right now but I am determined to make a new life for myself. Currently times are hard for me but I need to change and put down the drink so that I can make a positive future.

Its hard to understand unless youv been through it.

Not once do we consume alcohol and say I am proud of what I did, what I said and what I accomplished. Alcohol is a deceitful liar dressed up as a friend and comforter only bent on destroying everything in its path.

I’m 9 years sober this past Sunday, 7/25/21. Congratulations to who are seeing the light and want to get help.

As an alcoholic when I was still drinking I WAS DYING ONE DAY AT A TIME. That is the truth.

Don't give up. I've been sober for 361 days and I'm 35 as well. Its been tough but so worth it!

Use to walk into bars swearing I wasn’t going to drink...by myself! Total insanity!

I'm five days in and I don't miss it at all. I'm kicking several addictions along with alcohol. Feel great now when I wake up.

I’m proud of you, you did what my father could never do (quit drinking) he was a college educated athlete from a loving family and he died a functioning alcoholic from cirrhosis at 53. I myself am now 50 a proud father of three boys, a loving husband and a non-drinker, it would have been nice for my father to have been here today, sober enjoying his grandsons.

Addiction is so very cruel and heartbreaking!

I don't who he or this channel, I come across it by accident. But none of that matters, this man got up and showed his hearts and all the pain he went through. I have soooo much respect for him, how many of us could get online and expose ourselves as this man has done. NOT many I think!

8 months sober. Glory to God!

It was not too late for me to realize how much I lost. AA gave me a wonderful way of life.

I can listen to this guy all day, he has a talent for story telling

“Downfall of someone who thought he was a functioning alcoholic, but was actually a non-functioning alcoholic who got lucky for a while.”

This was a very enlightening series of videos. Disguise great! I’m so happy that he got out of that awful life. I know that video was 14 years ago, but I am praying that he is still doing OK!

Thank you for your honesty. You speak from the heart which is a big one. One of the downfalls of being sensitive vulnerable and beautiful. Us with alcoholic bereavement have amazing qualities that tend to blind us with light that is a special force. The blindness contributes to a hole in the soul that is the pain of substance dependancy. With appreciation.

I am living this guy's life right now. Thank you for the wake up call. God bless.

Your testimony will change lives. THANK YOU

I am 69 sober 15 years

disclaimer: i'm not alcoholic, but from time to time i am drinking much. for me personally, it's quite important to understand that i'm not the only one struggling with life, trying to survive, and stuff. listening to similar stories as mine helps to accept that life isn't easy and after acceptance i start thinking about how to make things better, how to avoid problems and stuff. sometimes it's good to nag , but not constantly.

I know this video is 14 years old but it’s still a huge inspiration in 2024

I 0nly drink on 2 occasions, when Im by myself and when Im around other people.

Personally I believe that alcohol should be illegal.

God bless you, Tom. I see your strength and your sensitivity. I respect your honesty and your obvious desire to communicate. I respect you as a man.

Drunk and starting to cry... time for part two, I guess.

I'm still on the insane rollercoaster. Each day I promise never again. Yet by early evening I am heading to the store. I will get sober time and go right back into the nightmare

Hope you got the help you needed mate! Wish you all the best!

Very courageous to share the part about your kids and the cliff and the bottle of vodka. All the best to you and your family.

I CANT STOP DRINKING SOMEONE PRAY FOR ME!!!!!!!!!

I also have had an addiction since 14 years old i know how hard it is and people give you no credit unless you quit completely but cutting back till you can quit is better than nothing good luck man

October 6th cool my birthday i was a drinker Thank God I'm not anymore Life is way better 😊 congratulations to you 🎉 to anyone that can accomplish this

37 years sober and grateful every moment of every day

In my opinion an alcoholic DOES NO LONGER WANT TO DRINK!!! He is now at a stage WHERE HE HAS TO DRINK, at least that was my experience!

fantastic video. Fun fact my sober date is October 6, 2014.

Thanks for your honest sharing!

This is like a speaker meeting.thanks.

Total Respect to you ! Hope you one day get you get all your kids back !!

Thank you for sharing your story. I can relate to being a functional alcoholic. I'm only one month sober, but have made up my mind that I'm never going back. A friend of mine dropped me off at AA for my 40th Birthday! LOL!!! What a wake up call! I knew I was spiraling in a bad direction but didn't know how to stop drinking. I actually didn't see the alcohol as a problem. I would have never known that I could go this long without wanting a drink. Well...I can't say that it doesn't cross my mind, but the support I'm getting at AA has been amazing! There is really no reason to go back. Still dealing with withdrawals, which sucks! But it is part of the journey.

this story helps me right now thank you

As an alcoholic sympathy was no good for me, not only was I weak but I was powerless over alcohol, I could not control it, but alcohol CONTROLLED ME!!!

And I am very glad you did. I would help anybody who put their hand out but so many willfully carry on & hurt all those around them. Good for you for finding the strength to fight your addiction. I realize it's not an easy task but it's the only way to overcome it. addiction.

I'm struggling with this myself. Good video 👍

My children's father was an alcoholic ....he put booze before his beautiful kids...it eventually killed him. It ruined their childhood and definitely left them with issues as adults 😪

Changed alchol for excercise,,aiming to run,marathon under 4 hrs when 60 ,,my vo2 max is 48 ,could go to mid 50 ,,not bad for 55 yrs

Great Job! Thank You for your Help. Never stop trying to help us.

Explaining is something most folks have either forgotten how to do, or either never knew how.

Hats off to the brave individuals that share thr terrible affliction of alcoholism . and the destruction it leaves in its wake God bless them

Some people CAN reduce their drinking to a moderate level, but it is difficult at first. My friend used to get drunk every night for 4 years. He quit for 6 months. Now he drinks 2-4 5oz glasses of wine two days a week. The key is to drink slower and infrequent enough to NOT build a tolerance, otherwise you go back to drinking heavily. But a heavy drinker must reduce GRADUALLY to avoid a life-threatening withdrawl.

My name is Mark and I am a functioning alcoholic! ty so much for the vid!

Well done to you Tom It takes courage Absolutely it does How are you doing now ? God bless you and your family

We drink too much because we want to control our mood. Trouble is, we feel good WHILE drinking, but feel down AFTER drinking and want to lift our mood again=more drinking. When you can weather the down feeling the next day, you don't crave another consecutive night of drinking, and you can make it through the week. But you also have to cut down HOW MUCH you drink a given time, so as not to build a tolerance. This can be difficult, but then so is quitting completely.

Addiction can break us apart, it can do horrible things to people, it can take away everything from you, your money, your loved ones, your job. Most often than not, it's always too late to realize how much we've lost.

Superb! Takes guts to say those things

I'm leaving my husband tomorrow. I tried to help him and be supportive, but I'm tired of being called a cunt, a bitch, a piece of shit and getting pinched and poked and getting things thrown at me. I don't deserve this mental and physical abuse.

Listening to this while drinking

I was more of a black out drinker. It was very scary! I was going to die fast but surely. Caused me to stop drinking at a young age! Functioning alcoholics though they die slowly.

Sadly I'm attending the funeral of a friend next week who died at 56..quiet guy who drank to give himself confidence and now he's gone.

It is now 2023 - any idea what Tom is up to today ?

I'm starting to cut back after 13 years of heavy drinking has really taken it's toll on me physically and mentally, my memory I really struggle to remember things if only I could turn back time

Thanks very much John for your prompt and affirmative response to my sharing. God bless.

Fair-play reaching success & being a functional alcoholic....but the money probably was ammunition to your addiction. Very honest video

I can relate to your story.

A case of beer a day? I thought I was bad

Before I became an alcoholic, the world was my oyster. Then from many years of drinking, my world was my enemy. These days of complete sobriety 24/7. etc. etc .etc. My brain is clean. My mind is clear. My thoughts are SOUND! From past folly, one can become WISE. SHREWD even. The word NO!!! Holds so much POWER!!!!!

wow. I like him. Hope he is well.

Colin Quinn?

I have to thank you for this testamony.

I have about 10-12 shots a night and when i skip a night i feel fine.Is this ok??

I'm back and can't remember making the last comment or watching this...

Can I ask, how much does rehab help? It seems to be much more available in the states (than the UK), but I'm wondering if I would benefit from a detox period..? I can currently go 2-3 days without drink, but no longer. But it's not going to get better, is it..

My ex girlriend called me a functioning alcoholic. She had no job and I was paying all the bills. Oh well at least the bottle still loves me

This is as real as it gets.

at what point were you functioning?

Booze finally got to me. 8 months now without a drink. I was getting so grumpy with only 4 or 5 beers a day near the end. So glad I put it down. My family and I can surely see the difference. I guess my family is the only reason I dont drink. Booze creeps up on ya. Im 55, it took 40 years for my body to reject it.

My dad was an alcoholic.He was a "Functioning" alcoholic until one day he wasn't.The house of cards came crashing down.We lost our house and ended up on the street,me being just a kid. I recommend for alcoholics to take psylocibin mushrooms.They're very effective at treating depression.They're close to a magic bullet.Anti-depressants are the next best option.

Anybody knows where he is now?

What a good man, glad hes clean

december 22, 2021 for me i miss it every hour, every day but i stay away because its for the best

I need help

Where is he now

Thanks Tom.

Alcoholism is an EXTREMELY painful death when you get to the brink. When your pancreas is on the verge of exploding, you'll try to drink but the smallest amount will Magnifie the pain. It's torture you'll Die or, you'll finally go to the hospital where you'll have a 10% chance of living.

I think you are doing very well

Powerful ❤

My father's an severe alcoholic. I started this channel to document him. Please help.

I pray to Mantago the great sky daddy, creator of the world, and everything in it.... I follow his teachings from "The Book Of Shite"... I drink now and then, but because of my faith in Mantago and his Shite teachings I can never become addicted....

I miss being so outgoing what do I do?

The problem being not that I took a drug of choice. The problem was that I did not have enough sanity to avoid taking a substance which was killing me.

Was he trying to feel a void or simply it was a domino ?

This guy is very articulate

i feel like you are an addict when 1) you need it and will do anything for it. 2) first thing in the morning before anything

I heard it said like this, it's not so much as the amount your drink but sometimes why. Can you just let that all go? An alcoholic is someone who often times takes a drink to "take the edge off... but it doesn't always work that way and ends up an addiction: of the mental and emotional kind. Kind regards.

Im currently an alchoholic ,i quit but the panic attacks were more than i could handle. So im back drinking.

The question is So take alcohol from your life what is left? Do you have anything else?

Five years sober @ 54. What got me to quit? In a dream, my Holy Guardian Angel showed me something that was so horrible and terrifying.

"Other chemicals in my 30s." Bruh just say coke lmao

Hi Jim Check out "Kick the drink ...easily" by Jason Vale. One of the best books I've read on the alcohol trap, and how to get out.