A YOUNG woman from Worcestershire says 'nothing can stop her drinking' and that alcoholism is a rising problem among university students.

The 25-year-old, who asked not to be named and has been an alcoholic and drug user for around six years, told the Worcester News her story and why she has not yet found the local help she needs.

She spoke out as a new approach to treating alcoholics was launched in Worcester – in the hope of reducing the strain on the NHS and other public services, which costs millions of pounds a year.

Alcohol Concern is working with Worcestershire County Council and Swanswell in Worcester on the Blue Light Project, which sees experts from the charity training adult safeguarding staff on how to approach people with long-term drinking problems who have resisted help in the past.

The project was piloted in Redditch in 2016 and, due to its success, has now been expanded across Worcestershire.

The 25-year-old said she welcomed a new approach to helping alcoholics but wasn't sure it would make a difference.

“At Swanswell (Worcester’s alcohol treatment facility), they told me to cut down, but if I could do that I wouldn’t be an alcoholic,” she said.

“Rehab is like a cult – there’s a lot of god talk and you all just sit around talking. Also, it’s difficult to get into rehab and you can be waiting six months.”

She said she has had to use the ambulance service five times for alcohol and drug overdoses, and has been detoxed at Worcestershire Royal Hospital a number of times.

She says there is a stigma around alcoholics and people need to know more about the condition.

“People don’t realise that alcohol withdrawal can kill you,” she said. "You’d do anything to get alcohol – I’ve jumped out of a window of a house to get some and I’ve hitch-hiked. I even smashed a door in at my mum’s house to get my alcohol that she was hiding from me.”

She first noticed withdrawal symptoms in 2015 when she started shaking. In May 2016, she came back from a holiday in France and was shaking so much that she couldn’t drive her car or even hold a cup, and her bed sheets were soaking wet with sweat.

“I started hallucinating, I was seeing dead people everywhere and was getting these flashing images,” she said. “I became so agitated. They don’t tell you that you’ll hallucinate. One time I called the police because I thought there was someone in my house.”

She also believes that “forced drinking culture” at university can have a serious impact. She said she started drinking at 15 because it “gave her confidence.” When she was 18, her father passed away suddenly and her drinking escalated, getting worse throughout her time at Aston University.

“At uni it’s all about downing drinks as fast as you can, it’s expected of you,” she said. “A lot of people at uni are alcoholics but it’s so socially acceptable.”

While she thinks the new approach from Alcohol Concern is a good idea, the woman, who is currently serving a six-month driving ban for a drink-driving offence, isn’t hopeful that she will recover soon.

“Nothing can stop me drinking,” she said. “Crashing my car, losing my licence and losing my boyfriend have not stopped me drinking.”

Research by Alcohol Concern shows that, on average, an area such as Worcester has 450 high risk treatment-resistant alcoholics, which costs public services around £12.5million every year.

Lauren Booker, consultant at Alcohol Concern, said: “Long term dependent drinkers with an inability to engage with services are a heavy burden on local services – they are often in and out of hospital or using social services. They are often causing themselves and the people around significant harm.

“The Blue Light Project is a way of engaging with them and helping them make changes in their life.”

There is a perception that nothing can be done to help long-term treatment resistant drinkers, but Lauren says that is not true.

“There’s a lot we can do for them – it’s not necessarily about trying to make them stop drinking,” she said.

“If someone is homeless or marginally housed or depressed, then it really isn’t the right time to try to make them change. But when they are eating well, are properly housed and feeling better in themselves, they will be in a much better position to engage, and can start to recover.”

Lauren said that a number of things can make someone unable to engage with alcohol recovery services, such negative previous experiences or mental health issues.