Kept trying until he found something that worked
Spending much of his life as a functioning alcoholic, Kevin O’Grady knew that he was predisposed to alcoholism as it was present on both sides of his family. Although he partied when he was younger, he didn’t start drinking heavily until after college.
He took the pain of a breakup with him on the road as a truck driver and the isolation of driving alone, combined with a broken heart was a perfect catalyst for heavy night time drinking.
Kevin was living his life: working, traveling the country driving trucks, going to concerts and ball games and says “drinking was part of my lifestyle.”
He admits he was already in detoxes before he was 30.
Anytime a company appointed physical was scheduled, he would go to detox to dry out.
In 1990, Kevin came to Portland, Maine and spent the next 20 years working for the City of Portland as an arborist. He recalls “being on call 24/7 kept him drinking as a functional alcoholic.”
Hangovers and going to work still drunk were commonplace for such a dangerous job and he knows the blessing of never having been seriously hurt as a direct consequence of his drinking.
Through the many years of drinking, multiple attempts were made to quit drinking.
Kevin tried the 12 steps, 90 day programs and other various treatments over a span of 15 years but nothing seemed to stick.
Part Native American, his inner struggle with knowing the importance of self-healing kept him and his sister looking for other ways for him to get sober.
Just over a year ago, they found the Weiss Method, a form of energetic healing that can be utilized to treat various addictions and unwanted habits.
Kevin described the session as sitting in a chair holding crystals in both hands, while his practitioner moved his energy to help him let go of cravings.
“It was like a release. I no longer have that inner craving that overcomes your rational thinking. It turned that switch off. I now have control over that inner drive.”
His practitioner did weekly follow ups to check in for a few weeks after his initial, hour-long session.
Kevin celebrated one year alcohol free in September!
It worked so well that Kevin used the Weiss Method again for quitting smoking which he had been trying to do ever since he was first diagnosed with throat cancer.
His enthusiasm and positivity were palpable when he explained that after drinking almost daily for almost 50 years, he is feeling better, sleeping better, and celebrates his mood being in a more stable place.
“It truly is freedom,” and his family is happier and even his doctor noted the benefits of his Weiss Method sessions.
Since being sober, Kevin has been getting in contact with a lot of his old friends and chuckles when he tells me their responses of surprise that he’s still alive.
Kevin’s drive to continue living life sober is shown in his dreams to travel from Maine to California and then to Alaska on a fishing trip.
At 66 years old, Kevin is a living reminder that anyone can get sober at any age.
Kevin says “If you really want to get sober, you will keep looking for ways until you find one that works for you. It just clicked.”