{"id":129525,"date":"2024-04-17T22:17:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T02:17:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=129525"},"modified":"2024-04-17T22:17:15","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T02:17:15","slug":"moms-tough-love-pushed-her-to-put-down-the-drink-and-pick-up-her-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=129525","title":{"rendered":"Mom\u2019s Tough Love Pushed Her to Put Down the Drink \u2013 and Pick Up Her Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Capital Blue Cross \u2013 \u00a0<\/strong>THINK<\/em><\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Trusted Health Information, News, and Knowledge) is a community publication of Capital Blue Cross. Our mission is to provide education, resources, and news on the latest health and insurance issues.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Excessive alcohol use claims the lives of more than 6,600 Pennsylvanians annually and costs the U.S. economy billions. One woman\u2019s story illustrates both the disease\u2019s danger and recovery\u2019s promise.<\/em><\/p>\n

Kristin Varner\u2019s mother had seen enough.<\/p>\n

She\u2019d spent years watching her daughter\u2019s endless spin of jobs, addresses and failed rehab attempts. It was fall 2005. Kristin was only 27, but she\u2019d already been drinking and using drugs since she was 15, and this latest freefall had no apparent floor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would black out constantly, wake up with no recollection of what had happened the night before,\u201d Kristin said. \u201cMy disease had taken over so much of my life that I was unable to do anything but drink.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bottle had blotted out her college degree, and Kristin was back at her parents\u2019 house after burning through six restaurant and bar jobs over the year\u2019s first eight months. It didn\u2019t help that she\u2019d recently totaled her car \u2013 which she had no funds to fix.<\/p>\n

Her mom was done.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said, \u2018I can drop you off at rehab, or I can drop you off at a friend\u2019s house,\u2019\u201d Kristin said. \u201cBut I didn\u2019t have any friends at that time. Nobody wanted me. Still, my mom just said, \u2018You\u2019re leaving.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

So a reluctant Kristin \u2013 minus any money, housing, or options \u2013 tried rehab again.<\/p>\n

That was Sept. 2, 2005. She hasn\u2019t had a drink since.<\/p>\n

Excessive alcohol use claims nearly 180,000 American lives a year, placing it among the nation\u2019s leading\u00a0killers.<\/em><\/p>\n

As Deadly as Ever<\/strong><\/p>\n

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and stories like Kristin\u2019s illustrate the importance of continuing the collective fight to control alcohol-use disorder.<\/p>\n

According to the National Institutes of Health, excessive alcohol use claims nearly 180,000 American lives a year, placing it among the nation\u2019s leading killers. In Pennsylvania alone, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the annual death count soared to more than 6,600 by 2021. That outpaces drug overdoses.<\/p>\n

The cost extends to America\u2019s economy. According to the CDC, excessive alcohol use delivers a $9.5 billion annual hit due to healthcare and criminal-justice costs and lost productivity.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Do It Alone<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dr. Jeremy Wigginton, Chief Medical Officer at Capital Blue Cross, says the first step along the path to alcoholism recovery is to seek support.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease don\u2019t try to recover alone; you need support,\u201d Dr. Wigginton said. \u201cThat can be in the form of rehabilitation programs, but also in the longer term can include ongoing counseling to unearth the root causes of your disease, and continued participation in support groups where you can surround yourself with the empathy of other recovering individuals. Please also consider self-help tools such as smartphone apps, books, hotlines, and meditation. Research increasingly reveals self-help\u2019s connection to continued sobriety.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristin echoed that advice, adding that those seeking recovery should also:<\/p>\n