ONE WHOLE YEAR!
I truly would not be celebrating a year without wine if it were not for Casey.
Working with Casey is the best gift I have ever given myself, the best chance I ever took to make myself a better person, to get out of my miserable rut – the cycle of work – take care of family – wine – promise yourself you will quit – can’t – then repeat.
Casey helped me break that cycle, first by getting through the first 30 days just curled in bed every night ordering take out and watching TV with the kids, assuring me that was OK, to getting through every holiday, soccer trip, beach vacations with the in-laws, flying, a hysterectomy, my daughters surgery, pandemics, homeschooling and all of it.
Casey walked me through creating a life I don’t resent or want to escape from every night, changed the patterns of rewarding myself with wine to rewarding myself in other ways I had forgotten or never knew I liked.
And Casey gave me tools- like planning ahead for how I was going to take things slow and reward myself along the way when something I knew would be a trigger was coming up.
And she was always there for me when life surprised me and I needed someone to help me re-frame or rethink something, or get through a bout of anxiety.
Like I called her crying from Minneapolis once after a terrible flight, and I had to walk past the bright wine bar at the hotel reception, and locked myself in the bathroom so my daughter wouldn’t hear, and thanks to her support I didn’t drink that night.
Casey gently encouraged me to look at and move out of the unhealthy emotional patterns I had that were no longer serving me and contributing to my overdrinking.
Doing that work was so empowering, and I felt like I was finally growing again as a 45 year old.
I had my physical recently and, since quitting drinking, I am down 30 lbs, from 170 to 140, my cholesterol and blood work and liver enzymes are all better this year and in normal healthy ranges.
I didn’t diet, I just stopped drinking wine at night and it changed my life.
I can’t even overstate how much better I feel about myself every single morning.
I wake up feeling good! No groggy pissed off headache depression anxiety combo.
I don’t need any anxiety/ depression medication anymore, it is manageable through keeping up on my sleep, healthy eating, exercise and other coping skills I have learned along the way.
I tried for years after my third child to moderate or quit drinking on my own but I never could do it for long, I never asked another person to help me on that journey because I was too afraid and too embarrassed and thought I should be able to do it myself.
Asking Casey for support and help was the best decision of my adult life.
If you have been trying and not getting anywhere, stop trying harder and try different things. Casey was the difference maker for me.
Hugs and love to every woman trying to do this. You can do it – and it’s worth it.