The Alcohol Stopped Working: Josh Connolly's Sobriety Story

When most kids were saying they wanted to be doctors or firefighters, Josh Connolly used to say he just wanted to have kids and not be a drunk. He grew up walking on eggshells, hearing his mum scream "you'll wake the boys up" while everything got smashed up downstairs. He squeezed his eyes shut and learned to disappear. That trick got him through childhood. It also got him thrown out of every classroom he ever sat in.

Josh found alcohol at 12. It worked. By 24 he was nine and a half stone, four kids, marriage gone, sleeping on a fold-up bed at his mum's house, drinking himself into the ground. The day Aguero scored that famous goal for Man City was the day he realised drink had stopped working.

Now nine years sober, Josh is a NACOA ambassador, a resilience coach, and one of the most emotionally honest men Dave knows.

You'll hear about: don't talk, don't trust, don't feel; the four layers of denial; what the first nine months sober really felt like; what happens when alcohol is the solution, not the problem; why being sober isn't the finish line.

If you grew up around drinking, this one's for you.

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You can also connect with me via Instagram @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice, and also contacts for Josh.

@josh_ffw

https://www.instagram.com/josh_ffw/

@Alcoholexplained

https://www.instagram.com/alcoholexplained/

https://www.wearewithyou.org.uk/

https://www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/