Ocean Hills blogs & resources

I admitted that my facade was starting to slip. But rather than stop drinking, I started having a drink in the mornings.

From chronic relapsing to lasting sobriety: Paulette shares her journey from addiction to alcohol to lasting sobriety.

Sober story: How I asked for help to stop drinking

Sober story: The first shaky days of sobriety from alcohol

He terrorised us with his hangovers. There weren’t many days where I didn’t arrive at school crying. It was like walking out of a war zone.

I don’t think anyone thought I had a hope but Ocean Hills gave me my last chance of survival. Having battled addiction for more than 25 years and becoming extremely unwell I finally realised (with a lot of help from my family) that yes, my life was worth living. I had one final attempt at drinking although I would be in my grave within three weeks if I kept going, as the doctors kept telling me. I didn’t want to put my family through that, even though I felt at times it would

Helping people get and stay sober with our professional, experienced qualified team is what we love to do.

I never want to drink again. This has got to stop. It starts about 2am, when I'm jolted awake by something I can't fathom. Was it a bad dream? Was it a sound that woke me? Is it because my head is pounding or could it be because I am thirsty. My god, I am so thirsty. I reach for water and gulp like I've been in the desert for days without a drop to drink. Painkillers come next and an attempt to sleep again, without success. My body is wired but tired with my eyes scratchy, li

“I was full-on drinking every night and often in the morning, when I’d start drinking again. I’d wake up in the morning and still be holding

Jenny's drinking went from social to sneaky in a matter of months. *Jenny has always liked a drink. Like a lot of Kiwis, she loved a few beers and wines on a Friday and was partial to an espresso martini or Manhattan on a girls' night out. Her drinking never greatly impacted her life or health until she hit her 30s. As her her lifestyle changed – through parenting and greater responsibility in her career – she drank more at home. Sometimes, she drank alone to relieve the pres

"I knew that my drinking was dangerous and out of control but I wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to my beloved alcohol." When I was slipping and sliding in and out of recovery, I tried going 'California sober' dozens of times, although I didn't call it that. Instead, I called it 'cutting down', 'taking a break', 'easing up' and 'slowing down'. My alcohol and drug counsellor called it 'harm reduction'. There's nothing wrong with any of these approaches, if they work. They did