Seven years ago I began my unhealthy relationship with alcohol. I was a heavy social drinker. Lets just say I never had one glass. But during this transitional time, my drinking was becoming a daily occurrence. What began as social drinking, turned into 2 glasses a night, then 3, then 4. And as my tolerance built so did my drinking. I was numbing all the angst I was experiencing and adding fuel to a burning flame.

I come from a family of drinkers, and drinking is normalized in our daily life. In fact it is a ritual of sorts. There needn’t be a reason to pour a glass of wine daily. If one didn’t drink, we would be perplexed. I considered myself a high functioning alcoholic. I was running a successful business, raising two teenagers, cooking daily, attending school functions etc. However, from the moment I woke, I would play all my days activities in my mind to see how quickly I could get home to pour that first glass. Some of us know this feeling! The years passed but the drinking continued.

I feel it extremely important to discuss addiction during the shift from adult to mature adult aka getting old. Lets analyze the word addiction. I, for one, always thought of it in terms of substance abuse. But the definition is, “the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity.” Can you relate? Clearly there are healthy addictions, but ever heard the phrase, “too much of a good thing is bad.” Through my own observations of others, I became aware that many of us, during this transition, developed unhealthy dependencies or became more obsessive about existing ones. I understand that some may not understand why I chose to include this topic in this forum. However, I feel it is critical to bring awareness to a topic that is often not discussed, in terms of midlife and menopause. My hope is we can openly share our thoughts, have discussions, and educate ourselves. Today I will leave you with a quote that really resonated with me:

“Knowing Yourself Is The Beginning Of All Wisdom.” -Aristotle