Alcohol Was My Escape Until It Became My Cage

For 12 years, I battled alcohol addiction.
I hid it behind "functioning" working, paying bills, and drinking every night.
I lost almost everything without realizing it.
Here’s how I finally woke up and took my life back:

At first, I thought I was fine.
I worked.
I paid my bills.
I just happened to get drunk every night.
It didn’t seem like a problem, until I realized I had no one left who cared enough to call me out.

Anyone who questioned my drinking?
I pushed them away.
Told myself they didn’t get it.
That they were the ones with the problem, not me.
Denial is one hell of a prison.

Deep down, I knew.
I knew I was stuck.
I just didn’t want to face the truth:
Alcohol had become my comfort, my escape, and my prison cell, all in one.

Then I met my wife.
She saw something in me I had buried under years of depression, loneliness, and addiction.
She loved me at my lowest, even when I couldn’t love myself.

She stayed through countless drunken nights.
Not enabling.
Not judging.
Just believing that I could still become the man I was meant to be.
Her belief kept me alive when mine had run out.

It took years of false starts.
Empty promises to myself:
"This drink will be the last."
It never was.
Until one day, I realized I wasn’t just breaking promises to myself, I was breaking my future.

Alcohol stole years I’ll never get back.
Time I could’ve spent building, growing, connecting.
But instead of staying stuck in regret, I chose something different:
Action.

Getting sober was the hardest thing I’ve ever done.
It wasn’t fast.
It wasn’t clean.
It was a war, against my habits, my mind, and my excuses.
But it was a war worth fighting.

Today, I’m done living on autopilot.
I’m building a life I don’t need to numb out from.
One small step, one clean day, one honest choice at a time.

If you feel stuck, in addiction, procrastination, or just surviving, know this:
You can change.
It won’t be easy.
But it will be worth it.
You just have to start.

I’m rebuilding my life brick by brick.
If you’re ready to do the same, follow my journey.
Let’s rise together.