Through the years, I tried to stop drinking over and over to no avail. At 28 I hit rock bottom—my boyfriend left me after a trip to London during which I binge drank for the duration; by then I was also a suicide survivor—and I quit cold turkey. I took myself to a 12-step support group and attended 90 meetings in 90 days. To a non-drinker, this may sound like a good thing. But to me back then, recovery was fraught with pain and discomfort. The minute I quit drinking alcohol, I was plagued by migraines, tension headaches and nightmares. I found I had to face life without the crutch I was so used to, but with the help of a recovery support group, family and friends and my own will to survive, 20 years later, I’m still sober.
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