“It was my salvation.” Alcohol drove Luísa to rock bottom. Through assisted therapy, she found a new life

She had tried two unsuccessful treatments before coming to The Clinic of Change. Alcohol addiction had plagued Luísa since her youth. Today, she doesn’t hesitate to say, “It was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Luísa’s life has been deeply marked by alcohol dependence. She has endured decades of addiction, but also of failed attempts to overcome it and regain a sense of sobriety—and, consequently, a fulfilling life. When asked how and when her relationship with alcohol began, she looks back to her childhood and her desire to try certain spirits that were consumed in her family.

“I was really young. I didn’t rest until I’d had a little glass of medronho brandy. Then, when I was 14 or 15, I started having a glass of wine with dinner… and sometimes another little glass; I liked to get cheerful. That’s the problem: I always wanted to get cheerful,” she recalls.

And she carried that habit into adulthood. After work, the bars in Ponta Delgada were a must-visit. By the end of the night, the outcome was almost always the same: Luísa would come home drunk. Other times, she would already be drunk during work hours.

“I went to a psychiatrist who prescribed all those medications to help me stop drinking, but I couldn’t do it. I was alone and spent most of my time sleeping. I ended up stopping the treatment. I managed to go without drinking for a while, but not for long. It wasn’t until I turned 50 that I decided to really cut back on drinking. Unfortunately, it wasn’t until I was 63 that I was able to quit completely.”

The worst was yet to come. Her mother’s death and the ensuing grieving process only made Luísa’s substance use worse. “I’d keep going until I literally collapsed. I’d only stop when I fell right in the middle of the floor.” At that point, she began a new treatment program. It lasted four months, after which she relapsed. She tried to get back into treatment, but the wait to start a new program made her give up.

During a movie intermission, through a commercial, she heard about The Clinic of Change for the first time. “It was my salvation.” The innovative treatment, which she had never heard of before, gave her determination. “I went in believing this was the one . And I met impeccable people, kind people, who gave me their full support. And Dr. Carla Mariz, my goodness. Impeccable. At the second session, I sat on the couch and raised my arms: I’m going to stop drinking, I’m going to stop drinking, I’m going to stop drinking—and I stopped drinking.”

The second of three ketamine-assisted psychotherapy sessions was a turning point in my relationship with alcohol. Once the treatment was complete, he was a different person, with an unshakable resistance to this addiction. “I’d see other people drinking. I’d pick up the glass, smell it, like it, but with absolutely no desire to drink, because now I know better and I don’t want to relapse. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I’m certain I’ll never touch it again,” he confides.

Luísa hasn’t had a drink in over two years. She talks about how her addiction gave way to a “deep sense of peace.” “I was always on edge. When I was sober, I was afraid of what might happen. I could have been unlucky enough to kill someone, to run someone over. But then, there was peace, an inner freedom—not feeling that sensation of having to stay in bed the next day because I couldn’t handle it. I’ve become a better woman, in every way.”

For anyone facing the same problem, there’s only one piece of advice: ketamine-assisted psychotherapy at The Clinic of Change. “To this day, it’s been the best money I’ve ever spent. As with any treatment, people have to want it; they have to do it for themselves.” While overcoming her alcohol addiction, Luísa also developed emotional skills. She feels lighter and finds it easier to “manage her emotions and feelings.” “I think I’ve become more human. It feels like a miracle, and for me, that’s exactly what it was—a miracle.”

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