The members described finding salvation in the AA's 12-step process of recovery, and in getting together and talking.
As director of the nation's only inpatient rehabilitation clinic for alcoholics, Taipei City Psychiatric Center's department of addictive science, Lin Shih-ku leads the lonely fight against the secret epidemic of alcoholism.
"A colleague of mine once warned the minister of health on the seriousness of alcoholism in Taiwan. The minister didn't think the problem was serious, and there was almost no government intervention," Lin said.
The tight-lipped corporate culture of Taiwan Tobacco and Liquor Corp (TLLC, 台灣煙酒公司), the keepers of vital domestic alcohol consumption statistics, and the lobbying power of the captains of the alcohol industry, Lin added, certainly do not help his cause.
"Look at the surging domestic abuse and suicide rates. Behind many of these cases is alcohol. Look at the problem with drunk driving these days. Alcoholism is very serious," Lin told the Taipei Times.
His recovery program combines both talk and drug therapies. Once patients are discharged, however, they must foot the bill for additional counseling with a mental health professional as national health insurance does not usually cover such treatment, Lin said. In any event, substance abuse counselors are few and far between in Taiwan.
Walking the halls of the Taipei City Psychiatric Center, I spoke with several alcohol detox patients, who are at times fully integrated with the center's mentally ill patients. The drinkers' stories are surprisingly similar -- they began drinking during their military service tours, losing control as family and job-related pressures crescendoed. One patient recounted his tragic love affair with booze -- how, over two decades of drinking, he went from dabbling with alcohol, to sipping nightcaps alone, to finally needing hard liquor just to function. "I want to be a father to my daughter. I want to be a husband to my wife. That's why I'm in detox," he said, his voice trembling from alcohol withdrawal symptoms or emotion, or both.
RSS