Courtney

Every morning I would wake up, hungover, convincing myself that this was my “normal” and promising myself that I wouldn’t drink tonight. Without fail, I headed to the liquor store after work and was in line with two bottles in my hand. The cycle never stopped. I was drinking to physically feel okay. I was drinking to mask my anxiety and depression. I was drinking to fit in socially. I was drinking to escape me.

One night I blacked out alone in my apartment and called a treatment center and did an entire pre-intake over the phone. I woke up the next morning with 6 missed calls and voicemails from the treatment center but no recollection of that hour long phone call. After a couple of days, I finally booked my plane ticket to that treatment center and the rest is history.

If I would have gotten everything I thought I wanted when I initially got sober, I would have really sold myself short. Today I am more centered, have emotional stability, a calmer presence, and the best part is I don’t constantly feel the need to escape myself.