Growing up in an alcoholic family, I often heard from my mom that I was at high risk of becoming an alcoholic, although I never really knew what to do with that information or what it meant for me personally. I had my first drink at the age of 12, which resulted in a blackout. Though I was scared every time I drank from then on, that didn’t stop me. I would vow to myself every time, ‘This time will be different.’ But it wasn’t.
I continued a pattern of binge drinking on the weekends from my teens through my mid-30s. I studied addiction in graduate school in a well-intentioned attempt to avoid becoming an alcoholic. I never got a DUI, lost my job, or drank during the day, so I thought I was in the clear. I didn’t “look like” any of the alcoholics I knew growing up in the bar business. For a long time, my drinking behavior didn’t interrupt my daily living.
Until it did.
Fast forward a few years and things began to change.
Continue reading here
Subscriptions starting at $3.99/mo
One Response
Great article. I’m trying to have these conversations little by little with my kids but it’s difficult. My partner still drinks, though not excessively, but my sobriety has been a lonely path at times. Excited to dive into more of these articles.