A woman who drank every day since she was 14 and could go through two bottles of whiskey at once has revealed the startling revelation that helped turn her life around.
Abi Feltham, 35, from Berkshire, started drinking cider with school friends as a teenager in an attempt to feel “normal.”
At the time, Abi says she was still struggling with the devastating loss of her father, who had passed away when she was three.
However, her drinking habit only got worse as she embarked on a 10-year backpacking journey through Southeast Asia and North America.
During this time, Abi worked in bars to hide her alcohol addiction, saying she would start drinking from the moment she “stood up to the moment she passed out at night.”
Pictured: Abi Feltham as she struggled with her drinking. The 35-year-old drank daily between the ages of 14 and 32
Pictured: Abi has now been sober for the past three years after a ‘moment of realization’ at her mother’s home during the lockdown
At her lowest point, Abi regularly drank two 700ml bottles of whiskey and several beers a day.
When Covid hit in 2020, Abi moved back from Canada to her mother’s home — and had a moment of clarity when she found herself cleaning out six empty bottles of wine and beer that she’d stashed along the edge of her bed.
She explained, “I moved back in with my mom and kept drinking. I went on an almighty bow and when the bow came to an end I realized I was hiding bottles next to my bed.
“This is something I did as a kid to hide my drinking from my mom.
“One day I was tidying up the bottles and sat down at the foot of my bed to put the bag down.
“It hit me all at once. I had a moment when the circle came full circle and it felt like a mirror was held in front of my face.’
Looking back on when she started drinking, Abi said she was an “angry and resentful” teenager and “always felt like an outsider.”
She explained, “I felt like I couldn’t identify with anyone unless I was drinking and that made me feel normal.
Pictured: Abi when she was still traveling and struggling with her drinking. At her lowest, she drank two bottles of whiskey and beer
Abi is said to work in bars to hide her alcohol addiction and says she would start drinking from “she woke up to when she passed out at night”
‘In the beginning it was always partying with friends. When I grew up and moved to London, I discovered how to drink on my own whenever I wanted.
“I was partying all the time — going out with friends or strangers.”
When she was 23 years old, Amie went on a trip and said she “lived from paycheck to paycheck.”
She said, “All I was interested in was drinking alcohol.
“I did it for ten years. I worked in bars where I was encouraged to drink in some cases.
“While I was traveling I met my ex-boyfriend in Southeast Asia and I thought my depression was cured – I fell in love.”
The couple then moved to New York, but after their breakup, Abi decided to move to Canada.
In 2020, Abi’s drinking and new drug addiction caused her to lose her job as a waitress – and she moved back to the UK to be with her family in lockdown.
Pictured: Abi with her new boyfriend Stefan and their beloved dog. The pair got together after she stopped drinking
Abi said of her recovery, “I was very numb for a while. I was exhausted. I felt like I had run a marathon; the last 10 years of my life had been so full and traumatic’
After her moment of clarity, Abi decided to go cold turkey and hasn’t touched a drop of alcohol since April 2020.
Abi said, ‘Physically it was really hard – I was really sick to begin with.
“I was very numb for a while. I was exhausted. I felt like I had run a marathon; the last 10 years of my life had been so full and traumatic.
‘After that I had a huge drive to get better. Every day I felt stronger and saw things improve.’
Abi said of her new life in the UK: “I now have a very stable, peaceful life. I have a boyfriend and we’ve been together for a year’
Since she stopped drinking, Abi now goes to therapy twice a week to make sure she stays on track with her recovery
However, Abi says it was definitely the right decision for her – and she has now found love with her new boyfriend Stefan with whom she shares a dog.
She continued, “I now have a very stable, peaceful life. I have a boyfriend and we’ve been together for a year.
“We have a very healthy relationship, which is the most normal thing – everything in my life is so peaceful.
‘I started working on my mental health en masse. I go to therapy twice a week.’