To live her highest potential she needs to quit the booze, so why will she start again? — Adele hit the news this week because she’s giving up alcohol. Is it strange that this is newsworthy? Perhaps. Does this say more about our obsession with celebrities or alcohol? I’m not sure. Reading the story I was struck by: a) how even millionaire hitmakers find 21st Century life…

Behaviors to watch out for so that your relationships stay healthy. — When I was nine years old I had a beautiful, charismatic best friend. Jessica was pretty, kind, clever and funny, and we had the best time together. Making up plays and dreaming of boys, we got on a treat if it was only the two of us. Add another player…

Or how I spent hundreds of pounds not solving my biggest problems really slowly — Nice white lady #1, 2015 Trigger: A friend pushed me to go to the doctor after I admitted to having suicidal thoughts. (Apparently, this is alarming. Who knew?) I cried to the GP and was given a prescription for Citalopram and a number to call the Talking Therapies team. …

Getting a diagnosis helped me understand my drinking in a way identifying as 'alcoholic' never had — When I attend AA meetings, I get the impression that a lot of people are undiagnosed autistic. They talk about not understanding (or caring about) the ‘rules’ of society, and feeling like outsiders in a way that caused them pain, ever since childhood. They talk about ‘overthinking’ and a self-consciousness…

And why I’m glad they didn’t. The further I get from my first years of sobriety the more I recognize how difficult they were. So much needed to change! And it happened sooo slowly. The uncomfortable truth is that you are right to be hesitant about getting sober. It is…

Reflections on letting go of people-pleasing (and the mask)… — Writing this, I am at the tail end of a cold that I’m not sure is actually a cold. It arrived the morning after a day-long festival when I woke dehydrated, achy and feeling hungover though I hadn’t drunk any booze. I got my partner and some of his family…

Our conversation helped me stop over-explaining my choice. — I’ve been sober for six years now, and I no longer get defensive about my sobriety. But for the first few years, I felt pressure to prove my drinking was really bad. Like I needed permission to quit from the drinker’s club. And I needed approval from my pals in…

Reflections on consciousness, newts, gardening and sobriety — Last week I was six years sober, and I didn’t even write about it. Yet. Because I can’t stop gardening. Lately, I’ve been spending every spare moment in the garden. Is this procrastination? I’m on the second draft of my third novel, after all, and have hopes of finishing it…

39 Years Old, 5.5 years sober, 1.5 years Actually Autistic, and I finally nailed it. — Enjoying a birthday sounds simple, but historically I’ve found it hard. There have been years where I’ve worried about ageing, years where I haven’t wanted to ‘make a fuss’, years where I’ve been flat out depressed (without realising). There have been years I organised things that weren’t to my own…