Here’s what it took for an alcoholic to realise that his family has had enough and it’s time to quit
Gaon Connection has collaborated with the World Health Organization for an awareness campaign that seeks to inform people about the harmful effects of alcohol. As part of the series, here’s the story of Yash, who lives his life by adhering to healthy habits but he also has a dark past to talk about. Read on to know more.
For 41-year-old Yash Badal, it’s difficult to pinpoint which instance exactly convinced him to quit alcohol as for him, there seems to be an unending list of experiences that repeatedly made him question what he had become.
Was it his father who was scared of his presence, or his wife who was living in constant trauma, his worried sister who never stopped checking what his brother was upto or his daughter whom he accidentally hit with a utensil.
Yash’s struggle with alcoholism and how he overcame it as part of a series titled Meri Pyaari Zindagi, which is a collaborative effort between Gaon Connection and the World Health Organization Regional Office for South East Asia (WHO SEARO) for a social campaign to promote awareness about the ill effects of alcohol.
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“Perhaps it was my intensely selfish act of leaving my toddler daughter in a rickshaw and going to a wine shop to drink that did something to me,” Yash remembers.
“It was too much. The rickshaw wallah could have taken my daughter away and I would have lost her that day. I think it made me reflect on myself and wonder who I really was,” Yash told Gaon Connection.
When the Going Gets Tough…
For his family, his alcoholism was no less than an endless tunnel with no glimmer of light to hinge hopes on. It was as if his entire household was living in constant fear and depression.
“I never told my parents about it but it was getting unbearable. He used to drink throughout his waking hours but I never left him… I remember that whenever he used to be sober, he cared a lot for me. I knew in my heart that my husband is a good man who cares for me but bad company has spoiled him,” Meenakshi Badal, his wife told Gaon Connection.
It wasn’t only his wife who suffered from the trauma of living with a chronic alcoholic. Every member of his family recalls the dark times that they once lived in.
“Papa was an alcoholic when I was born. I remember that once he hid all the heavy utensils beneath his bed to hit the rehab people who had come to treat him. He accidentally hit me with the utensil and it still hurts where he hit,” Siona Badal, his daughter told Gaon Connection.
His alcoholism led him to self-destruction too. On his birthday, he once tried to hang himself but the noose broke and he survived.
“I think it was God’s message. Even he didn’t want things to end like that,” Yash recalled.
The Tough Get Going
Today, Yash has overcome alcoholism and lives a healthy life that can inspire millions to leave darkness and embrace positivity in life. The support from his family has been immensely crucial in helping him quit alcohol.
“I am glad that my family reached out for help when needed. There’s no way I would have survived living that life,” Yash told Gaon Connection.
“At 21, people used to say that I look 32-35. Now having quit alcohol for a long time, people identify themselves as somebody who’s 32 despite me being 41,” he added.
Today, Yash is a recovery coach whose fitness levels can put even youngsters in shame. He now counsels people and his academic journals get published in reputed international publications.
Also Read: A father chose alcohol over responsibilities until the day his 12-year-old son didn’t return home
“One of the papers got published during a conference in Dubai while the other has been published in the well-known European Council,” he said proudly.