I was chasing an effect’:
Alcohol abuse among women on the rise
She had her first taste of alcohol in her early teens. By 20, Clare was an alcoholic and on the way to drinking herself to death.
“Right from the beginning, I knew I drank differently from other people. It wasn’t your regular social drinking. I was chasing an effect, but the more I drank, the more that effect eluded me. It was a mental obsession and I could not stop it,” said the wellness coach, now 35, who requested that her full name not be used.
At 25, she suffered a major heat stroke related to excessive drinking. A few years later, she hit rock bottom.
“Your body tells you when it is breaking down,” said Clare.
“I knew I was at the bottom – the dehydration was severe, the numbness, the shakes and the anxiety that came if I wasn’t drinking constantly.
