I Had To Fix My Hormones Before I Could Quit Drinking

Upside down hormones equal disaster

When your hormones are jacked up, everything else falls apart too.

Health Nut Phase

In my early 30s, I became a health nut. The Beauty Detox Solution by Kimberly Snyder was exactly what I’d been looking for. She basically promotes a vegan diet but also goes into great detail about gut health and the order in which we should eat food to help it digest properly. 

Her program made so much sense to me, and I started following it fairly religiously. I made my husband read the book too, and he surprisingly got on board as well. 

Growing up in a meat and potatoes, pot roast on Sundays kind of family, being vegan was a very new concept to me, and I loved it! 

I thought everyone else should love it too and began proselytizing my newfound way of life. But that’s a different story that basically ends with me giving birth to a child who LOVES meat and helped me realize everyone has different needs and tastes. 

Over a year’s time I lost weight, started working out regularly, and was in the best shape of my life, considering I’d never been athletic. 

Then I started drinking. 

I’d never drank. Not in high school. Not in college. I wasn’t a partyer. 

It started casually on the weekends and quickly turned into a nightly ritual that soon became an addiction. 

As I started drinking more and more, I paid less and less attention to my health. 

I stopped going to the gym, thinking home workouts would suffice. Then those stopped as well. 

We had several major moves and life changes that further rocked my healthy routines and added huge amounts of stress to our lives. My kids were getting busier and involved in more activities as they grew. We moved overseas and then moved back…life was hectic and chaotic. 

And I kept drinking. 

At some point I was drinking more than I was eating. 

My Rock Bottom

The year before I quit, my mental and emotional state hit rock bottom. 

There were days I couldn’t get off the couch. I couldn’t figure out how to get the laundry started. It took all of my willpower and energy each day to get out of bed to barely take care of my kids.

My thoughts were gone. Putting together a simple “processing through something” in my brain was impossible. I would sit on my couch staring blankly at the wall, nothing floating through my once very busy and creative mind. 

I was falling apart and desperately needed help.

Finally I mustered up the strength to see a naturopathic doctor who specializes in hormone therapy.

My numbers were off the charts in many categories. Not in a good way. My kidneys were barely functioning, my cortisol levels were so low the doctor wondered how I was surviving, and several other hormones were well below the normal range. 

She gave me some supplements to get my cortisol and other hormones back to normal, and she told me to drink lots of water. 

My kidneys were failing because I was so dehydrated. Probably due to my steady coffee til 4pm, alcohol til 12am diet. 

Now I Could Think About Quitting Drinking

Even though I was still drinking, I started to improve to the point that the idea of quitting drinking finally seemed possible. I could imagine it, process how I might be able to do it, and had the desire to quit as well.

My brain and body needed to bounce back a little from all the other health issues before I had the energy and willpower to stop the most dangerous health issue of all: drinking. 

The drinking led to bad health, which led to not being able to quit drinking, which perpetuated the bad health.

Nasty cycle.

Once I felt a little better, I was able to attempt not drinking. Being eager to get back to excellent health was a really great motivator. 

It didn’t happen overnight, and in fact, my story involves being healed from my addiction completely and instantly. 

However, there’s no way I would’ve been physically or mentally able to quit completely, even with the healing, if I hadn’t gotten my other issues under control. 

It’s a miracle I was able to muster the strength and even the thought to get myself to a healthcare professional. 

Now, more than two years after not drinking, I’m a bit psycho about my mental, emotinoal, and physical health. Healing my brain and body from alcohol addiction took some time and actually led to quite a bit of weight gain because I’m eating again. I’m also in my mid 40s, which presents a whole new set of challenges! 

Nevertheless, I’ve started working out again and focusing on better eating habits. I’m hyperaware of my mental and emotional health. Any feelings of funkiness, zombie-mode, or unusual anger leads to assessment and adjustments. 

This addiction thing is a long journey. Nothing happens instantly, and that can be frustrating and discouraging. But having a really good baseline to work from keeps me going. I remember what it was like to feel fit, slim, and healthy. To have a sharp, creative mind and energy to play with my kids. 

That’s my goal. My endpoint. 

I’m so grateful for a second chance, and have no desire to ever interfere with the process of moving towards “healthy” again. 

This is one of the greatest motivators for never drinking again!