MY JOURNEY

I’m an Irish expat, living just outside Paris with my French husband and three crazy kids. Growing up I was very shy. I felt like I didn’t really fit in. In my teens, I discovered that drinking meant I could step out of my shyness and be like everyone else. I loved languages, and with a sense of adventure, I travelled around, eventually settling in Paris. All along the way, no matter what the culture, the one culture I could always fit in with was the drinking culture!

And when I started doing all the grown-up things - career, mortgage, kids - in a foreign country, where I was never quite sure if I was getting it all right, I drank to relax, to cope with my stress and take the edge off my day.

The trouble was the more I blurred the edges of the hard stuff, the more I blurred the good.

I realised that rather than help me, wine was gradually taking all the joy out of my life. I was disconnecting from my loved ones and worrying about the future. Wine was supposed to help me, so why was I feeling so miserable and exhausted?! I was trudging through life and missing all the good stuff. I was a drinker though - I liked wine, how could I ever change that?

I felt like my confidence was crushed, and I looked for a way to get a handle on my drinking that didn’t involve having to battle through every day, or declaring myself an ‘alcoholic’. One day scrolling through the internet I came across Annie Grace and This Naked Mind. With their no shame, no blame approach I learned the facts, and found self-compassion. I reconnected with myself and haven’t looked back since!

I realised that if I had been struggling with my drinking, beating myself up for failing to control it; feeling alone and ashamed, then other women were stuck too.

When I started talking with people about my journey and how amazing it felt to live alcohol-free, they just couldn’t understand how I did it! Didn’t I feel like I was missing out? How did I relax? They couldn’t imagine life without drinking. I knew then that alcohol is taking up too much space in peoples’ lives. I knew I had to share what I learned with others, and I certified as a coach with This Naked Mind Institute. I created Sharp Sense Coaching as a way to help people get back in charge of their drinking, without feeling like there’s something wrong with them.

One thing I know for sure is that anyone can control alcohol and create a life they don't want to blur.