“From drink one, I was never able to control my level of consumption. I was a blackout drinker since high school, and that never changed. My reliance on alcohol to squash my social anxiety only increased as the years passed, and eventually reached the point where I could not function in social settings without it. Despite my alcoholism, I built a successful career in the entertainment industry, married a wonderful woman and we had two children together. Endless promises to myself and my wife that my drinking habits would change never materialized. As my career progressed, so did my disease, as my responsibilities grew with a family, so did my addiction. Yet, I was able to hide it, smiled when someone was looking and said that life was great to anyone that asked. The pandemic hit, I imploded and completely lost any control I still had over myself. For the first time, my 9 year old daughter started to look at me sideways wondering what was wrong. I couldn’t take it anymore, I no longer wanted to feel awful, out of control, and under the thumb of the bottle. I finally asked for help and went to rehab. I am one year sober now and feel absolutely incredible both mentally and physically. I am actually living the life I pretended to for so long, I’m the husband and father my family deserves, and I’m proud of who I am.”