My name is Sammie, I live in England with my two beautiful children, and I have struggled with drinking for most of my life. I qualified as a Mental Health Nurse in 1994 and more recently have certified as a This Naked Mind coach. I have worked as a substance misuse nurse for over 20 years both in the community and in-patient rehab settings. My desire to coach became ignited having personally completed two of the programmes offered by This Naked Mind to help me change my relationship with alcohol as it was definitely no longer serving me. I was delighted to discover an alternative to the 12 step AA methodology which personally, I had not been able to resonate with as I did not agree with being powerless over my addiction for the rest of my life and wanted a programme that would empower me to take back control over my relationship with alcohol, however that looked to me.

I therefore want to let the world know, there is another way, which I found to be more compassionate and it works! Up until finding This Naked Mind, I used to question whether I was a ‘functioning alcoholic’ (not that I would ever say such a thing out loud). I now realise that I was a ‘Grey Area’ drinker which covers a huge sliding scale of drinking between those drinkers who can ‘take it or leave it’ and those who are physically dependent and require medication to safely stop drinking due to the severe withdrawal symptoms and risk of seizures.

As I turned 50, it struck me how the tireless work of so many women over the years fighting for equal rights has unintentionally increased the amount of pressure on us to be all things to all people – career woman, mother, wife, maybe caring for ageing parents and all whilst being expected to look fabulous! It is easy to see how alcohol is used as a little ‘pick me up’ or to relax from a long, stressful day. Add into the mix, ‘Big Alcohol’ who have been mercilessly targeting women over the past couple of decades to increase their profit margin, and suddenly here comes the explosion of ‘mummy wine culture’. Clever marketing ploys were successfully put into action to take advantage of this opportunity and what began as an innocent way for mums to find support and connection over a ‘harmless’ glass of wine, soon developed a more sinister side, albeit in a quiet, insidious manner. The odd glass of wine spiralling and relatively quickly becoming a daily bottle or two for many. This now meant that on top of all the other pressures and expectations, these women (which included me) found themselves heading towards or already in an unhealthy relationship with alcohol which along with everything else, brings up feelings of guilt, shame, regret, embarrassment and a host of other detrimental mental, emotional and physical health effects.