OTI Member Stories: Paula

Being the daughter of an alcoholic mother, I was always conscious of my wayward relationship with alcohol...

My mind became consumed with thinking about wine - shall I drink tonight? Do I have enough?

I would find a reason to go to the pub midweek – if it had been a good day, a bad day, just any old excuse. We always “needed” milk – so I’d buy another bottle of white and red, just in case. The red was for my husband, to take the spotlight away from my spiralling habit, which I knew I needed to address.

There was no major rock bottom, but there were plenty of situations that I ruined with my hideous drunken behaviour. My mantra became “surely my kids deserve a decent role model?” and wondered how much longer I would get away with playing roulette with my health.

It was time to face this head-on… But there was always a celebration or an occasion in the diary which I couldn’t possibly attend sober! After all, I hadn’t had a sober weekend for decades.

There were many day ones… Only being accountable to myself was clearly a recipe for disaster... But then I found my tribe!

That was just over six months ago and I’m absolutely loving sober life... I took it moment by moment at first and wouldn’t look further. I immersed myself in quit lit, podcasts and sober communities - it was exciting to realise I wasn’t alone, and that freedom was actually within reach.

I absolutely love the Over The Influence. There’s no doubt in my mind this is the way I will continue to live my life.

I am no longer a slave to the poison and my sober muscle is getting stronger with each obstacle I navigate. It sounds super cheesy but each and every day I am grateful for my sobriety and waking up with clarity is just the best feeling in the world, and something I will never tire of!