|
Hello Friends,
My name is Andrea and I am an alcoholic. It is with great joy that I report today my life is filled with the promises of long-term recovery. I know the healing and hope Hazelden Betty Ford delivers to so many others each and every day.
I’m writing today to share a video with you. It’s about me. And other women like me. You see, one of the core things so many of us have in common these days is isolation.
But for women like me, especially before I found the joy of a life of recovery, isolation was what I sought.
A lot of us may seem to enjoy a drink with friends or colleagues after a long workday. But in the end, we just like to be by ourselves at home…alone. One more glass leads to two, then three, soon after four, and then five, etc. Drinking a couple times a week soon becomes a daily activity. The next thing you know, either drinking or thinking about the next drink is all-consuming.
The pandemic has created the perfect environment for that to accelerate. Add together the stress of managing the holidays during a pandemic and the separation from loved ones; COVID-19 will create an extremely difficult holiday season for many—especially for women, where alcohol use rates are on an alarming rise:
-
Alcohol use has increased among women during COVID-19 at higher rates when compared to most other population groups.
-
Binge drinking among women is drastically on the rise.
-
More women are also reporting socio-economic hardships tied to alcohol use since the beginning of the pandemic.
So, will you take a quick look at this video to hear a little about my story? My life before I found recovery reflects the experiences of all too many women today.
|
