Shortly after I turned 45, after several long breaks from alcohol under my belt, I came to the conclusion that alcohol was no longer serving me and decided to stop. It was incredibly daunting to begin with but the best decision I’ve ever made and one I wished I’d reached much sooner!

I thought alcohol was my friend; It was there when I wanted to party, to celebrate, to comfort me when I was down or felt lonely. I drank through university and it was almost a prerequisite for working in advertising. I lived the expat life for a decade in Australia, Singapore & Spain where wine was a constant and despite the Monday blues, wasted Sundays nursing a hangover, I just couldn’t imagine a life without alcohol.

It was shortly after turning 40, almost seven years ago that my relationship started to sour. I’d given birth to our second daughter after moving to Madrid. I was in a job I loathed and had raced back to work from when my daughter was six weeks old. Loneliness, a young baby, and and stressful work situation proved to be a rather lethal combination.

Wine became my only escape, my tool to cope, a sense of reprieve. Life became happier when we moved home to the UK but a seed had been planted and I started to question my relationship with alcohol, wondering if life might be calmer and happier without it featuring.

The list is endless on my reasons for going sober but essentially my biggest why’s are my daughters who are now six and eight. I wanted to be a fully present Mum and enjoy being with them and them being with me, not constantly snapping and losing my temper.

Stopping drinking has been the biggest act of self love, I have more patience, my confidence has soared. I have more energy, holidays, Christmas, birthdays, all these events that I thought would somehow be less than without alcohol are so much more. I feel like my life has started again but with a much happier ending.