I Didn’t Hit Rock Bottom—
But I Knew I Wasn’t Okay
I never had a dramatic "aha" moment.
No major fallout.
No rock bottom.
But I did have a quiet, persistent question echoing in the back of my mind:
“Am I drinking too much?”
And not just that—
“Is this how I really want to feel?”
I wasn’t spiraling (well sometimes I was lol) . I was totally functioning. Great job, friends, making great money. From the outside, things looked fine.
But inside? I was tired. Flat. On edge. I was moving through my days on autopilot, using wine to soften the noise of unprocessed stress and the pressure to hold it all together.
The truth is: my habits weren’t extreme.
They were normal—by society’s standards.
And that is what scared me most.
Stress Was Running the Show
As a stress and confidence coach now, I can see what I couldn’t back then: chronic stress was the invisible thread in all of it.
Stress was making me exhausted, unfocused, short-tempered, disconnected.
It was keeping me from feeling joy, from trusting myself, from showing up fully in my life.
And it was driving me to reach for something that would quiet it—even temporarily.
That something was often a drink. Add in overworking, overcommitting, over consuming instagram or netflix, overeating. Anything to feel relief. It never worked.
But the real problem wasn’t alcohol (of course it was a problem, but you know what I mean). The thing that we think is the problem is never the thing. I see women quit drinking, or leave the relationship, or start working out, eat clean—and they’re still stuck in the same stress loops, the same patterns, the same inner noise. Not because they’re doing it wrong, but because no one ever taught us how to actually feel safe in our bodies. To feel safe enough to face what you’re ignoring or pushing down.
But when you start learning how to work with your nervous system—fuckin' magic happens.
What Changed Everything
When I decided to stop drinking, the first thing I had to face wasn’t cravings—it was stress.
The tension in my body.
The overwhelm in my mind.
The pressure I’d been living under for years without even noticing.
That’s when I began developing what has now become the foundation of my work:
a daily practice to support my nervous system, my energy, and my emotional well-being.
It started small—just five minutes of daily breathwork. A walk without my phone. A journal prompt I didn’t always finish. But over time, those small choices turned into powerful, therapeutic breathwork journeys. Somatic tools. Deep repatterning work. Learning how to respond rather than react. How to feel everything (the good, the bad, the ugly), not numb.
And slowly, I stopped reaching outside myself for peace—because I was learning how to create it from within.
Why I Coach This Work Now
I’ve lived it. I still live it.
I help my clients—especially women who function well on the outside but feel overwhelmed, stuck, or disconnected on the inside—build a relationship with stress that doesn’t drain their confidence or their creativity.
Because here’s the truth:
~ Stress will always exist. But it doesn’t have to run your life.
~ You can learn how to meet it with tools, with presence, with compassion.
~ You can build confidence by learning how to trust your own response.
That’s the lifestyle I live now. Not perfectly—but deliberately.
Listen to the Full Story
In this week’s podcast episode, I open up about the quiet questions that led me to quit drinking—not because I had to, but because I wanted more.
More peace.
More honesty.
More energy.
More me.
Listen now:
Episode #25 ‘If you’ve Silently Questioned If you drink too much…’
And If You’re Asking Yourself the Quiet Questions…
…you don’t have to wait for rock bottom.
You just need a turning point.
And if you’re ready to start that journey, you don’t have to do it alone.
This is the exact kind of inner work I guide my clients through—nervous system regulation, stress repatterning, confidence building, and real self-trust.
Because the life you want starts with your inner world.
And if I hadn’t stopped drinking and started facing my stress,
the life I live now? It simply wouldn’t exist.
If this hits, go check out the Personal Power Map—it’s a beautiful starting point to help you understand your patterns, reconnect with your body, and start shifting things for real.
Breathe it in, Be Deliberate, and Please be good to yourself.
Chelsea
