“Chris Joyce found himself in a state of utter ruin as a result of excessive drinking and addictive gambling, and this led him to seek help at a rehabilitation centre during the Christmas period in 2018. The Wicklow GAA senior football analyst, in his naive mind, thought that his stay at Rutland Centre would help him become more balanced, even to the extent of indulging in a drink at an impending family wedding.
Nonetheless, it was on Christmas Day six years ago that he was forced to rethink and let go of such thoughts. His family, including parents and siblings, made a trip from their Knocknacarra home in Co Galway to visit him at the Rutland Centre located in South Dublin’s Knocklyon. He distinctly remembers when they sat outside consuming turkey and ham sandwiches on Christmas Day while he enjoyed a full-fledged Christmas meal inside.
This was when he realised the gravity of his situation and its impact on his loved ones. Reality slapped him hard. It was an unwelcome revelation that was challenging to accept and witness. He understood its seriousness and decided to commit to a life-long change when his family parted ways that day.
Joyce admits being in a dreadful state of health at that time, shaking and sweating profusely, weighing around 130 kg. He lacked awareness about himself and couldn’t even bear to look people in their eyes. Now, he weighs around 85 kg.
Presently aged 30, Joyce is leading a sober life, free from gambling, and is engaged as a business development manager in Galway. He began to grapple with his gambling issues when he was just 21 years old. It was then when he sought help from Oisín McConville, a renowned former GAA player who himself had battles with gambling.
Originally, McConville aided Joyce, who is currently a member of his supporting team at Kildare, introducing him to the initial steps of recovery which involved abstaining from alcohol and attending support meetings. However, after a major setback in Joyce’s efforts to stop drinking, McConville proposed that Joyce enrol in Rutland Centre’s six-week residential recovery programme. Joyce has stayed sober since his last alcoholic drink on the 11th of November 2018, subsequently participating in the Rutland Centre programme and maintaining steady progress with his recovery ever since.
Joyce disclosed that he began gambling at the tender age of eight, starting with harmless wagers on the Grand National. However, he stated that once he became an employee at Dunnes Stores in Galway at 19, his alcoholism and gambling, two habits which were always interconnected, “escalated drastically out of control”.
He remembered frequenting betting shops during lunch breaks and after hours, alongside consuming alcohol, following this up with trips to casinos at night, which would leave him pennyless and forced to walk home. He referred to this as a harmful cycle. He quit his position at Dunnes to work a Monday to Friday job at Aviva car insurance, this shift allowed him more spare time during the weekends which increased instances of drinking and gambling. Shortly after a month at Aviva he was admitted into the Rutland Centre.
The transition to the new job increased his spending substantially, triggering increased drinking and gambling. He painted a different image of his life to those around him, claiming he spent little money on gambling. “In reality, I gambled every penny I earned”, he admitted, emphasising that understanding this was a significant part of his recovery.
On a recent Sunday, Joyce was one of the 80 individuals who received medallions at a celebratory event organised by the Rutland Centre at Dublin’s National Concert Hall, celebrating milestones in their personal recovery journeys. In celebration of being five years into his recovery, he addressed a full house. This is an act he confessed he would never have been capable of prior to confronting his addictions.
However, the journey of discussing his struggles and resisting the urges to gamble or drink is a never-ending one as per Joyce. It’s not a race with a finish line, but rather an ongoing endeavour.
In his own words, he admits “minor aspects in my mind have a tendency to get blown out of proportion.” For him, maintaining a close connection with his support community, which includes his family, McConville, sponsors, and fellow AA meeting attendees, is of the utmost importance.
He concedes, “Upon waking up tomorrow, I might find myself in a terrible mood, with the thoughts of gambling and alcohol dominating my mind. It’s a constant reminder that these temptations are never far away from my grasp. My approach to life is built around the concept of ‘one day at a time’.”