Hello and welcome back to Sober Awkward, where we're doing something a little bit different.

We started this podcast to share our own messy, awkward and hopefully humorous journeys through

sobriety and have always felt incredibly humbled by how many of you have connected with our

stories. But not everyone's journey is the

same as Vicanise. So we put our heads together to figure out a way to give back and let our

listeners inspire each other. Basically, we're taking us to idiots completely out the equation.

We decided to run a storytelling competition, during which we asked you

to share your own inspirational stories of recovery with us. Well, to be honest, the stories you sent us

completely blew us away. They were powerful, moving and truly inspiring. We knew right away that we had to share them. So with

the permissions of the storytellers, we're going to be sharing one of their stories with you

each week. This is our way of celebrating you. These are your stories, raw, real and full of hope.

Welcome to Sober Stories.

This week's Sober Story is from Debbie.

For years, I never saw or labelled myself as an alcoholic,

because I didn't need to drink in the morning or to get through a day, but to many

I was considered a functioning alcoholic. I initially consumed alcohol to get through an awkward social

situation, especially with larger groups. My social awkwardness caused me to then experience anxiety

in social settings. If I was in an event, a party, a networking event,

any social scene where I didn't know anyone or knew only a few people, and if I had to walk

into an event by myself, then it was very terrifying. As years moved along, I would drink a few

glasses of wine and or alcohol at home as a method to unwind and relax after a long day at work.

I remember as a young girl, I swore I would never drink alcohol after seeing my mum and stepdad drink throughout my childhood and the impact it had on their marriage.

...