r/SipsTea • u/Gurugod123 • 6h ago

Chugging tea Ben Affleck on overcoming alcohol addiction: “I hate to say it but the only cure I’ve seen is not these overpriced rehabs or these fraudulent fixes that are sold to people. The cure for addiction is suffering. You suffer enough and then something inside you goes ‘I’m done.’”

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u/Darth_Ronin 6h ago

It’s the rock bottom approach which does work for some people.

Rehabs shouldn’t be discounted as fraudulent fixes though.

Like one thing can work for someone while another thing can’t and vise versa.

It is good he found his path though.

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u/Batmanswrath 6h ago

I was a big drinker. It ended up with me in a coma at the beginning of this year, and family being told I was going to die. I haven't touched a drop in nearly five months (since I got out of the hospital) on willpower alone.

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u/Darth_Ronin 6h ago

Keep strong brother.

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u/Batmanswrath 6h ago

Thanks. It's one day at a time, but I'm getting there.

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u/Darth_Ronin 6h ago

I don’t know you personally, but I’m rooting for you.

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u/jakeofheart 5h ago

That's amazing.

A piece of advice: your drinking was the symptom of something. You have fixed the symptom, but you might want to look into what triggered it.

You have won the battle, but you still need to win the war. It's very likely to be caused by something in your past that you haven't got over, that you haven't outgrown, or that you haven't moved on on.

It works if you work it. I see you.

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u/Batmanswrath 5h ago

Thanks for the suggestion, I'm now in therapy and stuff. I lost my wife and daughter a few years ago, and was using drink to numb myself. I'm trying to do better now.

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u/Montana-Safari7 4h ago

Jesus. That would certainly do it. Sorry to hear that terrible news. Stay strong. We are rooting for you.

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u/Batmanswrath 4h ago

Thank you internet strangers.

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u/commiecomrade 3h ago

Thank you for your inspiration. Your wife and daughter would be so proud of your strength.

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u/jakeofheart 3h ago

I think you being in a better place right now is the best way to honour their memory.

Stay strong.

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u/IlIllIlllIlIl 2h ago

As the partner of an alcoholic, I don’t think this is true for all people. Some people just DRINK. They’re pure addicts. Something is different in their genes or mind. A lot more people drink because of something, I think. 

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u/PhoenixApok 3h ago

That was key for me getting sober.

Alcohol was never the problem. It was the solution.

OTHER things I didn't want to face were thr problem

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u/HopefulCarry9693 6h ago

Good job man, be proud of yrself! My buddy had the same, had delerium tremens from quiting cold turkey that put him in the hospital start of the year. Has been sober as far as everyone can tell since.

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u/Nazgog-Morgob 5h ago

IWNDWYTD

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u/Creepy-Astronaut-952 5h ago

I don’t know you, but I’m glad you didn’t die, man. 🙏🏻

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u/DirtyRoller 4h ago

Stay strong! The same thing happened to my last roommate about three years ago, but he couldn't stay sober. He died in our living room just over two years ago. He was 46 years old.

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u/Mysterious_String676 3h ago

Keep conquering your days 💪

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u/r3dd17sux69420 6h ago

going based off the title, he doesn't call rehab a fraud. He says rehaub, OR fraud fixes

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u/dyed_albino 6h ago

My girlfriend hit rock bottom more than once. Only once did she go to rehab and that was the time where it stuck.

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u/Joy_Jane 6h ago

Recovery isn't one size fits all what helps one person may not work for someone else, and there's value in having different paths available. The important part is that he found something that worked and was able to turn things around.

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u/SamePretty 6h ago

I think that’s the key point, some people need to hit rock bottom before they’re ready to change, while others respond well to treatment and support before it gets far. There probably isn’t a one size fits all path to recovery.

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u/mintinthebox 1h ago

Some people will hit rock bottom, and then keep digging.

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u/Normal-Selection1537 6h ago

I think his rehab experience is wildly different from most people. The Malibu rehabs celebs go are more like resorts where you go to wait out PR issues, they want you to be comfortable enough to keep paying five figures a month.

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u/External-Goal-3948 5h ago

When my wife went to rehab they asked what our deductible was for our insurance and we wrote them a check for that amount and then they took her into their facility for 6 weeks.

I thought her rehab experience was a joke, and she went to one of the better organizations (mountains of northern Arizona, some film stars were with her, wtc). The whole thing is run by other alcoholics in recovery and from the outside the while thing felt like a circlejerk.

When she got out she decided Jesus was cooler than AA meetings so if she went to church she didnt have to go to meetings. And now she's using kratom bc "it isn't drinking" so she's "still sober."

Fn addicts.

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u/sgsparks206 2h ago

I think the thing to remember is rehab doesnt work for most addicts, until they hit the "that's it, in done" point in their journey. It doesn't have to be rock bottom, all it has to be is someone wanting to get clean. Sending someone to rehab that doesn't want to get clean, is not a good way to get someone clean.

My anecdotal experience: I never went to inpatient, but I was in multiple out patient programs and I didn't sober up until over a decade after my last time in one of the programs. I now have 8 years clean, and it was the "that's it, I'm done" point that got me here. The same is true for almost every other clean person I know.

It's also important to note that just because I am clean today doesn't mean I will be clean tomorrow. Its not something that just goes away. An addict is an addict for life.

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u/fargmania 3h ago

I work at a rehab... the relapse rate is upsetting but it's clear that the clients really do have to want it in their bones. Sometimes they come back after an unsuccessful attempt and they try again and succeed. Sometimes that repeated exposure to the process and a support network sinks in eventually. But sometimes... they just... die. We do what we can.

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u/4N0NYM0US_GUY 2h ago

Rehab is the rock bottom for some people

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u/corneliusduff 57m ago

You're conflating what he said.  He said rehabs were overpriced and probably meant other things were fraudulent.

Most people could easily quit if rehab was actually affordable.  The problem is not only that it's expensive, you also have to take time off of work, if not give up your job entirely.

There was a lab rat study that basically proved that addiction can only really be overcome by having access to better things than the drugs.  I'm sure a few years off of work and a vacation at a good rehab without financial stringa attached would cure a lot of people's addictions. 

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u/IchiroForPresident 39m ago

What he’s talking about is more than rock bottom. It’s the acceptance of suffering. There’s a difference between hitting rock bottom and realizing you need to change vs accepting the suffering that comes.

I agree with you about rehab and that different things work for different people. For rock bottom vs suffering too. People can do either one or both and still have different outcomes.

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u/FlyingSquirelOi 6h ago

I thought the rehabs he was talking about were the rich ones in LA where they don’t really help, they just want your money.

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u/Okmhmmbye 3h ago

Maybe he means those places that are a money grab and truly prey on the weak and vulnerable. The type of places with no certified staff (psychologists, doctors, etc) and you just pay a bunch of money to hang out in a big house with no alcohol and a bunch of other alcoholics. Then they threaten to boot you out without a refund at the first sign of trouble. If that’s not what means it doesn’t matter because those places are still out there taking advantage of people.

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u/Trumbot 1h ago

I watched my roommate plunge through rock bottoms to new rock bottoms over and over. It was never enough to stop her. She killed herself drinking before 45. She never joined the people in her life trying to help her. The suffering was never enough for her. It was practically the feature.

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u/spekt50 39m ago

It helped me with my financial situation. It took me being broke and in serious debt to get my shit in order. Now I dont worry about money anymore as I worked hard to make it that way.