Five Years Sober. Then One Drink. Abby Burrows's Story

Abigail Burrows had her first sip of champagne at nine years old, at a concert at the Dorchester. She topped up her own glass when the teacher's back was turned. She has never, in her own words, been a healthy drinker.

By 19 she was drinking herself into psychosis at the Royal College of Music and dropped out. By her mid-twenties she'd hit a rock bottom serious enough to make her stop. She didn't drink for five and a half years. Then one glass of champagne to celebrate the milestone unleashed a decade of drinking that nearly cost her everything: her marriage, her career, her dad to alcoholism, and a job she'd dreamed of since childhood.

Abby is now over a year sober, back in the West End pit at Les Mis, and credits her recovery to the charity Music Support.

You'll hear about: the first drink at nine that lit her up; why moderation after years sober is a fantasy; what really happens when one glass of champagne breaks a five-year run; how the music industry hides addiction in plain sight; why getting back into Les Mis is the most beautiful chapter of her sober life.

If you've ever told yourself "I can have just one," this one's for you.

https://www.instagram.com/abbieflutes

www.abigailburrows.com

Music Support is a registered charity that helps anyone who works in the UK music industry experiencing substance use, addiction and/or mental health challenges. Find out more about their work at www.musicsupport.org. The charity is hosting “Understanding Addiction and Embracing Recovery: The Classical Edition,” a webinar in partnership with the Royal Society of Musicians on Blue Monday, 20th January, from 6pm – 730pm. It will feature Abbie and Music Support Trustee and cellist, Rachael Lander (a previous guest on my podcast). This special session that will also include a workshop on the neuroscience of addiction and pathways to recovery is suitable for anyone who works in the UK music industry (and their family and friends). Find out more and register to join at https://www.rsmgb.org/whats-on/understanding-addiction-embracing-recovery

If you want to connect with me via Instagram, you can find me on the instahandle @Soberdave https://www.instagram.com/soberdave/

or via my website https://davidwilsoncoaching.com/

Provided below are links for services offering additional help and advice.

www.drinkaware.co.uk/advice/alcohol-support-services

https://nacoa.org.uk/

Show producer- Daniella Attanasio-Martinez

Instagram - @TheDaniellaMartinez

https://www.instagram.com/thedaniellamartinez/

www.instagram.com/grownuphustle

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