PAGD Keystone Explorer Summer 2019

Keystone Explorer |  Summer 2019  11 In the past, I never thought of myself as being an alcoholic and having a drinking problem, because I could maintain a successful dental practice, be happily married with three children, live in an upper middle-class neighborhood, and never experienced a serious alcohol related incident, like a DWI or accident. But that is typical of the disease of addiction, denying that you have a problem. Sooner or later, the alcoholic must admit to himself that he has a problem, that his drinking is abnormal, excessive, and his life is unmanageable. After decades of drinking, I finally did admit that I was an alcoholic. I grew up in Baltimore County with two loving parents and three siblings. I went to a private high school and a small liberal arts college before dental school. My friends all had older siblings who drank alcohol and were “cool,” so we thought it was “cool” to drink. I started drinking at age 15 with my friends, and it seemed very normal to do so. It was fun. My name is Jim, and I am an alcoholic. I am a retired dentist, 74 years old, and have been sober for 11 years. from the editor’s desk health + welln s