Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism which some readers may find distressing.
An alcoholic documenting his sobriety journey has opened up about the signs that made him realise he was an addict.
Corey Warren shares content on social media about his problems with booze, including the likes of sharing his three differences between someone who is a ‘normal drinker’ and someone who is addicted.
The YouTuber helps others quit alcohol with over 220,000 subscribers as he says he knows ‘what it feels like’, having faced ‘the grips of addiction to drugs and alcohol at an early age’.
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From Michigan, USA, Corey managed to go completely sober in 2011 following several stints in rehab. And he says it ‘wasn’t the blackouts or the drunk weekends’ that made him an alcoholic.
“It was obsessing about it Monday through Thursday,” he explains, “counting down the days until I can drink again.”
Corey says that fixation on having a drink was his ‘sign’ as he continues: “It wasn’t the DUI [the US crime of operating a vehicle while under the influence] or the drunk fights with my friends or my family that made me an alcoholic.
“It was saying ‘I’m sorry’, turning around and doing the same thing again. That was my sign.”
Corey continues that ‘getting sick’ and having ‘hangovers’ also didn’t signpost to him that he was an alcoholic.
“It’s swearing that I was gonna stop but eventually not even believing myself,” he adds, “that was my sign.”
Sharing his tips and advocating for sobriety in his content, Corey tells his subscribers that a person doesn’t ‘have to lose everything to be an alcoholic’.
“You just have to lose yourself,” he concludes.
For those struggling, the dad says that: “If you want to better your life, start by getting all that alcohol out of it.”
Corey previously said that a difference between his drinking and others what not ‘in how much’ he drank but ‘how’.
“Normal drinkers, they have a reason for not drinking,” he explained.
"Maybe the kids wake up early or I have to go to work or I'm getting up early so I can work out. Whatever it is, they have a reason not to drink."
Whereas Corey was in the mindset that he had a reason to drink, as he said: "Bad day, I'm drinking. If I'm stressed out, I'm drinking. If I'm fighting with my wife, I'm drinking…
“See, normal drinkers, they have reasons not to drink. Me, I have every reason in the book to drink."
Please drink responsibly. If you want to discuss any issues relating to alcohol in confidence, contact Drinkline on 0300 123 1110, 9am–8pm weekdays and 11am–4pm weekends for advice and support.
Topics: Mental Health, YouTube, Alcohol
Jess Battison