

When you first start noticing you have a problem, it can be hard to admit. But when you're ready to make a change, it becomes easier to commit. The next thing you know you're on a fairly lonely journey seeking a healthy and fulfilling life....sober.
Syzygy is my way to connect life struggles with [re]building well-being and a healthy mind.


YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
I’ll share my thoughts, experiences and journey related to my recovery. I’m excited to get real about the mental health and substance abuse experiences of one middle-working class single mother. Nothing is off limits.


My name is Valeria, I am a 34 y/o single mother in recovery.
I started my drinking career in college. As I entered adulthood, I turned to alcohol to ease my anxiety and as a way to relax after a long day of retail work. When I moved cross country for my first “big girl job”, I used alcohol to cope with the challenges of being a new mother and the loneliness I felt being miles away from friends and family. After about three years of “casual” drinking, I thought, “maybe I have a problem”. I started trying to control my drinking – only wine, only beer, no dark liquor, only on the weekends, just one case of beer per week- You name the control measure, I’ve tried It! When COVID-19 really shut things down in March of 2020, my drinking escalated. After being intoxicated almost every day for a year, countless brownouts and blackouts, I entered a military residential treatment facility on March 4, 2021 for 28 days.
The past year and change of recovery have been full of ups, downs and in-between but no matter what I was going through, I never had to pick up a drink. In September of 2021, I started classes to become an Alcohol and Drug Counselor. Through these classes I have learned so much more about addiction and its impact families and communities and the resources and services available suffering from addiction. I am finally learning to use my voice for the encouragement of myself and those around me!
.png)

My sobriety has made me painfully aware of the stigma within middle-working class communities of color. The glamorized “mommy wine” culture that encourages alcohol use as an escape from the day-to-day activities of being a mother. We’ve all been causally scrolling on social media, stopped and thought, “Dang, we grew up together, how’d they get there”? Well, when I became comfortable enough to encourage others by sharing my story publicly, I became that person! We never know what others are going through behind their screens and what it took for them to get where they are today.

On my journey to recovery, I’ve fallen in love with...

Made 1 year sober,
2.28.2021
social media
time-lapse drawing videos
and I’ve become a certified cat lady.



“Recognize that our struggles can help those who have similar struggles.”
- Morgan Harper Nichols
Peace Is a Practice: An Invitation to Breathe Deep and Find a New Rhythm for Life
THE LATEST
Check out the most
recent blog posts
Engage with us! As you read my story of recovery, I would love to feature yours. Recovery stories of all types (substance use, mental health, physical health, relational dependence etc.) welcomed Connect with us below!