Finding Humor in Recovery: Comics on Stopping Drinking

You win whenever you find a sense of humour in a difficult situation. When you are drinking too much or worried about your alcohol intake, it can be stressful and frustrating. The information available is either not relevant to you or too dry and clinical to get an idea of how it really feels to be dependent on drinking.

The new comic series, ‘Recovery Problems’, helps to express the emotions and challenges of living with a drinking problem in a lighthearted and relatable way.

The main characters all have different drinking problems and are at different stages of recovery.

Adam, The Alcoholic

Alcoholic Problems’ central character is Adam, who faces a lifelong struggle with alcoholism. The comics feature Adam dealing with common issues with withdrawal, his social life, family and alcohol counsellor.  Later comics show Adam working as an alcohol counsellor himself to help people, a common feature for people in recovery.

Alcoholism and Tapering

The comic deals with tough issues but tries to maintain a sense of humour. The author says, ‘Lots of people I have talked to about recovery have said that maintaining a sense of humour about yourself helps when dealing with your situation and how other people see you as an alcoholic.’

The series sees Adam wrestle with denial and question if he is an alcoholic or just a problem drinker. These strips seek to illustrate the difference between the two and help people understand the nature of their problem.

The story also follows Adam’s addiction’s impact on his family and how alcoholism affects those around us. In the end, it is Adam’s wife and child that lead him to make the final decision to seek help for his problem and enter recovery.

Adam later enters a recovery centre, and the comic follows his journey, addressing common fears about giving up alcohol for good.

The comic then moves on to follow Adam’s life as a recovered alcoholic. Addressing issues such as peer pressure, sharing your experience with others in recovery and regrets.

Sue, The Problem Drinker

Sue’s issues vary significantly from Adam’s. While Adam is a lifelong alcoholic, Sue struggles more with mental health and problem drinking. Sue’s struggle represents the huge proportion of people who are not addicted to alcohol but are dependent on it. By stopping self-medicating and improving her life, Sue and the reader gain some perspective on how alcohol is making problems worse, not better.

Finding new ways to spread understanding about alcoholism and problem drinking, this comic takes on a dark subject in a way that is relatable. The writer and artist have both worked in recovery and counselling and have seen the impact of addiction first-hand. They explained, ‘We are trying to make something that speaks to the experience of alcoholism and problem drinking for the person but also for those around them. Alcoholics can have a really hard time explaining their situation to others, so hopefully, this can help everyone to get what is happening to so many people.’