“I got over it with alcohol and ended up drinking a bottle of whiskey a day”
One of the speakers at the “Don’t get stuck” conference was Thodoris Atheridis. This particular event is about reducing the harm from addictive habits. The actor shocked with his confession about him alcoholism.
“I had a background from a father who was a heavy drinker, no joke. At 15 I suddenly had panic attacks out of nowhere, I thought demons were coming. They took me to the IKA to a neurologist, who said that these things appear in adolescence and gave me some medication,” initially said Thodoris Atheridis and continued:
“In the third panic attack, November night, I ran to the ouzo where my dad was drinking with his friends. He sees me and says “Again?” and I say “Yes”. He tells me “sit there” and says “John, grab a beer”. The panic attack lasts 20 to 30 minutes and because it eased with the beer, I took a beer each time and slowly introduced it into my life.
All my friends did heroin and I never did because I was scared. This saved me, because with the problems I had if I had tried and realized that I didn’t mind, I would take it again and have another development. With alcohol I hit her and ended up drinking a bottle of whiskey a day with too many beers.’
Continuing, the actor emphasized: “I never had an image of a drunk, except late at night anymore. I could never imagine being able to write or play without alcohol. I would sleep an hour and wake up with a chest pain that wouldn’t go away unless I drank beer at 4am. I was drinking from 4 in the morning until 2 in the evening.
They told me for many years that I drink, I said no and what are you saying. If you don’t admit you have a problem, you don’t do anything. In August 1999 I drank 26 carafes of tsikoudia and suddenly I fell head first on the table and they took me to the sea to vomit. The humiliation had hit rock bottom. Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic. It is a progressive, fatal disease. You are always responsible for your own recovery.”
