An Alcoholic at IBM

I just retired after being with one company—IBM—since 1980.

For many of those years, I wrestled with alcohol issues until it became unavoidably clear a decade ago that I was an alcoholic. (Which, in the recovery world, means I still am one.)

In fact, several members of my family battled addiction, and we endured some very dark times.

IBM has roughly 400,000 employees. With me gone, that means there are at least 39,999 people still there with alcohol or drug abuse problems. That doesn’t count those with other addictions such as smoking, pornography, gambling, or eating disorders. Or the many with depression or anxiety. Nor does it include those with compulsive habits such as control, anger, or workaholism.

And there are many more facing addiction with their families. And friends. And coworkers.

I was an alcoholic at IBM, and many employees there have addiction issues. Why is that? Because IBM is made up of people. And all people have issues, because we are all addicted to something.

But there is hope. The informative articles with links below are meant to help anyone understand and deal with the issues in their lives, especially those related to addiction. And to receive a free article via email once a week to help you live life better, sign up for the STEPS Journey Blog.

I started with IBM days out of Georgia Tech and, after a few years, transferred from Engineering into Sales. For the first few jobs and cities, alcohol was not something I needed to hide very much, because most of my drinking buddies were coworkers! (And, frankly, we had a pretty fun time.)

Later, having kids got me thinking about what type of Dad I would be. Parenting also got me back into church, which led to an awesome life transformation at the age of 40. I still drank, though, more than I should have. Until our family went through what I call the “Dark Ages” and I then knew I had to stop.

Looking back, I believe our life journey was what it was meant to be, and many blessings came out of what happened.

But I sometimes wonder, “What if …?”

What if I had been given information earlier on what early-stage alcoholism looks like?
What if I had education on how to turn around a trajectory heading toward addiction?
What if my company published vulnerable examples of alcoholics who made it through?
What if someone had found the courage to empathetically ask me if anything was going on?
What if I was offered a confidential conversation with someone who had been where I was?

For a long time, I wasn’t aware of my downward trajectory, had no education on addiction, and was not connected to anyone who could meet me where I was. Plus, church was the last place I wanted to have those conversations, and recovery was for “alcoholics and addicts,” certainly not for me.

Finding Hope, Healing, and Help

The articles below offer some positive steps to consider. Many people, including lots of IBMers, are somewhere along the journey to addiction, but there is hope, healing, and help available.

They could be wondering, “What is Addiction?”
Perhaps they’re asking early questions, such as, “Is It Okay to Drink?”
They may be further along the journey of “Weathering the Storm of Alcoholism.”
Someone in their family is making them wonder, “Who Do You Know Who Could Relapse?”
They are dealing with the fear of figuring out “What To Do if Your Teenager is Taking Drugs.”

Many people are becoming increasingly concerned about someone they care about or work with:

Awareness has developed that “Someone at Work Has an Addiction Problem.”
They wish they knew more about how to practice “Meeting People Where They Are.”
And they want to do something positive by learning about “Helping People Where They Are.”
They’re frightened for someone and need information about “Moving Toward Safety.”

If you are like almost everyone else in the world, you can find yourself or someone close to you somewhere in that journey. The critical question is: What are you going to do about it?

You Can Make a Difference

In today’s society, we need to change “How the World Thinks About Addiction.”

There are massive resources going into preventing many diseases, but almost none investigating “The Life-Changing Promise of Precovery” for addiction. And there are things we can do to better understand “How We Can Help Prevent Addiction” if we are willing to get into the conversation.

After 38 years working for one of the best companies in the world, it’s time for me to move on, and I am starting a new nonprofit ministry focused on the prevention of addiction.

To the IBMers I’ve worked with and to the company that treated me so well for so long, I say, “Goodbye.” To those of you who want to stay connected to this conversation on improving lives and preventing addiction by signing up for the blog, I’ll talk to you next week. God bless.

Question: Will you stay engaged in the conversation about how we can help prevent addiction?

Action: Sign up for the STEPS Journey Blog now. Help other people improve their lives by using the social media and email buttons below to share this article, especially with other IBMers.

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