Before and after pics show woman’s incredible transformation after addiction saw her down two bottles of whisky a day
BEFORE and after pics show a woman’s incredible transformation – after addiction saw her down two bottles of whisky a day.
Abi Feltham, 35, from Richmond in south west London, drank alcohol every day from the age of 14 to cope with the death of her dad.
She started drinking ciders in the park before moving on to two 700ml bottles of whisky and beers every day.
Abi worked in bars to hide her habit while backpacking around the world for ten years.
She said: “I would drink a lot. When it was at its worst I was going through a couple bottles of spirits a day.
“I would drink from the moment I woke up to when I would pass out in the evening.
“I have always struggled with mental health issues. I had a lot of trauma from a young age.
“I had a lot of loss and drinking was the only way to cope.”
The covid-19 pandemic forced Abi to return from Canada to her parents’ home in Berkshire.
Have you got a recovery story to tell? Email harry.goodwin@the-sun.co.uk
She carried on drinking at first until she had a life-changing epiphany three weeks later.
While clearing six empty bottles of wine and beer hidden down the side of her bed into a binbag, she had a flashback to doing the exact same when she was 16.
Abi immediately went cold turkey – and hasn’t touched alcohol since.
She said: “I went on an almighty bender and when the bender came to an end I realised that I was hiding bottles next to my bed.
“This is something I did as a child to hide my drinking from my mum.
“One day I was clearing up the bottles and I sat down at the end of my bed dropping the bag.
“It all hit me at once. I had a full circle moment where I felt like a mirror had been held up to my face.”
ADDICTION HELL
Abi realised that her alcohol addiction had its origins in bereavements when she was child.
She said: “As a kid, I was really angry and resentful, I always felt like an outsider.
“I felt like I couldn’t relate to anyone unless I drank and that made me feel normal.
“To begin with it was always with friends partying.
“When I became an adult and moved to London I discovered how I could drink on my own whenever I want.”
Abi left the UK and lived “paycheck to paycheck” across the world to bankroll her drinking.
She said: “All I was interested in was drinking alcohol. I was doing it for 10 years.
“I was working in bars where I was encouraged to drink in some cases.
“While I was travelling, I met my ex-boyfriend in South East Asia and I thought my depression was cured – I fell in love.”
Abi moved with her ex to New York – but when they broke up she moved to Canada and started smoking crack.
She lost her job as a waitress because of her drug and alcohol addictions, forcing her back to the UK.
PATH TO RECOVERY
Abi suffered brutal withdrawal symptoms when she went cold turkey during the pandemic.
She said: “Physically it was very difficult – 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-on and traumatic.
“After that, I had an enormous drive to get better. Every day I felt stronger and I saw things improve.
“I now have a really stable peaceful life. I have a boyfriend and we have been together for a year.
“We have a really healthy relationship which is the most normal thing.
“I have started massively working on my mental health. I go to therapy twice a week.
“Everything in my life is so peaceful.”
NHS guidelines on drinking alcohol
According to the NHS, regularly drinking more than 14 units of alcohol a week risks damaging your health.
To keep health risks from alcohol to a low level if you drink most weeks:
- men and women are advised not to drink more than 14 units a week on a regular basis
- spread your drinking over 3 or more days if you regularly drink as much as 14 units a week
- if you want to cut down, try to have several drink-free days each week
If you’re pregnant or think you could become pregnant, the safest approach is not to drink alcohol at all to keep risks to your baby to a minimum.
You read more on the NHS website.
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