I feel like I have spoken a fair bit about the mental/psychological aspects of alcohol abuse but not so much about the physical side. Perhaps that is due to the fact that I consider myself rather lucky – somehow my body has managed to avoid any negative repercussions despite the absolute hell I put it though. When I went for my first doctors check up just weeks into my sobriety I was certain that they would tell me that my liver was damaged or that I had massively ruined my long term health prospects… yet that wasn’t the case. Everything came back fine. I got lucky, very lucky.
Well, not entirely. I was quite under weight and had begun having heart palpitations (though they couldn’t be certain of a direct cause for the palpitations).
However when I look back now at photos of myself from a couple of years ago it is obvious to me that I was certainly not healthy and was most definitely neglecting myself.
Above is a photo of me taken about one month before I ditched the drink. I remember going out that night and taking this photo because I liked how I looked. I don’t like it now. Despite my well put together appearance it is clear that I was under weight for my size. I was gaunt and worn down from months and months of heavy drinking.
This is me today. My face is fuller, I am a healthy weight for the first time in years. Turns out I’m actually quite curvy and am just now discovering this for the first time. I’m not for a second saying that I am the embodiment of perfect health now, not by a long shot. I eat a lot of junk and I drink a lot of caffeine… but I’d take that over sustaining myself with a bottle of wine for dinner any day of the week.
Sobriety and Me 