Drinking and how it changed my life: Ann Dowsett-Johnston at TEDxHomeBushRdWomen

I am 21 years sober and drug free. My niece got married this summer and my sister called me to tell me ,"You didn't make the cut" and she said you cannot come to the wedding because "You have a problem with alcohol and marijuana " I said no I don't. I just can't be around pot and I don't care if people are drinking around me" she didn't change her mind. My other sister told me around the same time of the wedding, "you are the Only person I know in my many different circle of friends who does not drink or smoke pot" 21 years sober and still in my family I am the odd one out, both when I was drinking and now sober. I wouldn't be 71 years old if i hadn't stopped drinking. I would be dead. I own and operate my own small business and am self supporting thru my own contributions, when I was drinking I was unemployable. I am trusted by my clients to care for their animals and homes, when I was drinking I couldn't be trusted at all, with anything and always seemed to need to be bailed out of something I had done because of drinking and drugging. One Day at a time I am free of the wreck drinking and drugging made of my life. One Day at a time I make the choice to not drink, not smoke pot, and forgive those who still judge me, however misguided they are.

9 days sober, longest I’ve been sober in 1.5 years

I loved this. Professional women especially need to hear this right now. Thank you!

Mushrooms completely changed my whole life. I became a better version of myself This experience gave me a lot of confidence about myself and my body. A bunch of bad thought/behavior patterns were broken. One of these were pretty bad OCD that made me wash my hands a lot. It gave me a lot of hope that thing will be fine, this is one thing that I heard throughout the trip; Everything is alright. The main reason for the trip was my severe depression and it definitely helped me(although it's not gone). Before all I could do was lay in bed. Now I am trying to rebuild my life one step at a time which wasn't possible before.

223 days sober today. Thank you for your truthfulness, your story.

I quit drinking 13 years ago and took it to the gym, train hard everyday and have never been happier.

Thanks for the talk. I'm sober 49 years in AA.

Thank you for this video. It’s 2am and I’m drinking my 8th beer. I drink every night. I have drank 8 beers every night for the last 4 years since I’ve been separated from my abusive ex husband. I drink to numb. I drink to escape life. I have PTSD. I’ve lost myself. I’m a shell of my former self. I’m a walking zombie. I cannot function and hate myself. I hope one day I can overcome this horrible addiction

I gave up alcohol 3 months before my daughter was born. I'm now 16 months sobers and feeling great. Best decision i've ever made

Wow, an inspiring story. I began my sobriety journey 11 days ago....

At 35 years sober, I know for fact, you lose things when you sober up. Things you wonder if you can live without. These are the very things that were killing you. In hindsight, the loss turns into great gains. The greatest gain is a life of accountability, integrity and peace of mind. Nice job on this TedX talk

You just told my story!!!!!!!! "But it's only wine and if it were dangerous all of Europe would be alcoholics"..that is what I told myself ...7 years sober...God bless you..NOW write THAT down!!xo

6 weeks sober and i feel so awakened, physically and mentally

You got me! Made a grown man cry. I wish everyone could watch this.

My first time sober - I loved telling everyone about my high bottom. My second time sober was while living in my travel trailer. Life is awesome now but omg what a bumpy ride back to sanity. Bless you AA.

So eloquent, beautifully spoken. The heavy lifting of getting sober...and the shame of female drinking. I’m on that journey now and this really hits home.

I empathize 100%. I'm an alcoholic and drug addict, clean and sober since 28-1-1994, one day at a time. Life has never been easy, even after becoming clean and sober, well especially after becoming clean and sober. There is nothing to hide behind, no drink or drugs to mask my life and emotions. Rehab and AA helped me so much, I am eternally grateful to both. Rehab introduced me to AA. I tried many times to self-detox...............never worked, before rehab. The Serenity Prayer: God, grant me the Serenity To Accept the things I cannot change Courage to change the things i can And Wisdom to know the difference. It is so, so dear to me. Living my life one day at a time and trying to live in the moments of each day is how I do it. The past is gone, the future is unknown, so living in the present clean and sober is such a gift.

in dark difficult times, her son reminds me that reaching for gratitude can heal my perspective..thank you

Hearing you speak of your son and his love for you warmed my heart. Very very much.

7 months pregnant/7 months sober! Longest I've been sober in over 10 years... it's been nice to remember what clarity feels like... despite the occasional prego-brain moment!