Table 3 Categories and themes revealed during the analysis
Categories | Themes |
|---|---|
Living day by day with losses that creep up with ageing | “Tipping the balance” |
Leveraging newly found freedom, accumulated experience and wisdom | |
Understanding what healthy ageing entails and devising strategies to age well | |
Living with hidden alcohol problem for long time | “Staying behind a veil” |
Ambivalence towards alcohol’s effect on ageing | |
Admitting one’s own alcohol consumption as problematic and deciding to seek treatment | “Lifting the veil” |
Getting the right support to set personal goals and resolve alcohol problem | |
Adopting strategies to reduce alcohol consumption | |
Experiencing positive changes and hopefulness despite occasional return to heavy drinking |