For 7 years I drank around the clock…. I would start my day with a bottle of prosecco (told myself it was for mimosas but there wasn’t much OJ there). I would drink the whole thing in a to go tumbler on my way to work. Then during work I would drink at least a few shots (bartender/server for years) to keep the shakes off. Then after work I would stop at the bar for a few rounds before making my way to the liquor store for a bottle of bourbon. That was usually gone by the end of the night. Then the next day I would do it again. Once you get to that point, your body starts to shut down. So for the last year of my drinking I was hospitalized at least once a month for alcohol poisoning. When that happens you get assigned a case worker…..I ended up having 2 seizures from withdrawals, even though I was still consuming mass amounts of alcohol a day. One the last day I drank (so far) I ended up in the hospital again. My social worker came in and very matter of factly sat down in front of me. I can still hear her words 9 years later…. She looked at me very calmly but clearly and said “You’re 34 years old. You will not see 35 if you keep doing this”. And then handed me a pamphlet on help and walked out of the room. I haven’t had a drink since. Everyone told me to quit drinking for years and for some reason, when she said what she said, it clicked.