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!