Summary Of Sandi's Alcoholic Drinking Program

The subject of the program was a 64 year old lady named Sandi. Sandi is an alcoholic and her family is trying to get her to take steps to end her addiction. To begin, Sandi freely admits she is an alcoholic and she likens being buzzed to freedom because, she does not have to worry about anything. She consciously tries to become "obliterated" because she wants to shut down. although she also acknowledges that this cycle just goes on and on and on. She knows the drinking is hurting her health, but her body needs it. The drinking has also affected her personality. Her family considers her a mean drunk and as a result, they are becoming distant or alienated from her.

The show then goes on to show us the experiences in her life. Her mom remarried when she was 11. The mom and step-dad were big partiers and did not provide a good family life. Sandi felt abandoned, like the kids were an afterthought. She married at 18, had twin daughters and a son who had a mental disability. Soon after, her husband left and she felt abandoned again. She began drinking at age 25 because alcohol eased the feelings of abandonment she felt.

Once she becomes a grandmother, she stopped drinking and had "found herself" again. Shortly thereafter, her son is in an accident and suffers additional brain damage. He starts acting more violently and the stress causes her to relapse …show more content…
This program also highlights factors of the multifactorial model because long term alcohol abuse can lead to server heart, liver and brain damage. I did learn that the premise of the show, namely an intervention, follows a system developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services* which includes intervention, detoxification and motivational