I’m head of an alcohol charity – but I lost control of my own drinking
I’m head of an alcohol charity – but I lost control of my own drinking
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Rushing downstairs I couldn’t wait to tell my family the good news. After four months looking for the right role and next step in my career, I’d finally been offered a great job – CEO at Alcohol Change UK. My role would be to help drive forward its vision of a world free from alcohol harm.
![[Dr Richard Piper: Dry January picture: supplied]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237666271-f8a2.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
I couldn’t have been more excited, and everyone was really pleased for me too. Well, almost everyone. My youngest daughter, then aged 11, had a slightly confused look on her face. And then she said six words which hit me hard…. ‘But do they know about you?’.
![[Dr Richard Piper: Dry January picture: supplied]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237666342-059b-e1738067762948.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
It took me a moment to process what she’d said. But then I realised what she meant – I drank a lot of alcohol. And as this year’s Dry January challenge – where many of us try to cut back or become alcohol free – comes to an end, I’ve been reflecting on my own relationship with booze.
I started drinking at the ripe age of 15. I had found a new group of friends, and drinking beer (especially at that age) not only helped me to fit in, but felt like a rite of passage. Then, at 17, I started working in a pub and fell in love with real ale.
![[Dr Richard Piper: Dry January picture: supplied]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_237666351-3365-e1738068021271.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
By the time I arrived at university, I was a pretty regular drinker. I enjoyed cheap pints and discovered that £5 could get me a bottle of strong wine that delivered more alcohol per pence. During those years alcohol made me feel like a grown-up and that feeling continued throughout my twenties until it became part of my identity. And the older I got, the more I drank.
