Jeannette Levitt, Alcohol Freedom Life Coach
LIFE COACHING ... with a twist
MY STORY
I’m Jeannette and I was a late bloomer when it came to my struggles with alcohol.
I was in my late 40’s when my marriage unexpectedly ended and life took a turn I never saw coming. While still in the divorce process, my father died as well, also suddenly, and then came a breast cancer diagnosis. No no no! Not surprisingly, my four school-age kids struggled in the wake of it all, including one who developed a life-threatening eating disorder. It was a pretty awful time, to say the least.
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So ... here's where alcohol enters the story.
What was once a take-it-or-leave-it attitude toward alcohol during my 18-year marriage, increasingly became a take-it attitude over the next eight years. Take it to numb from the chaos and uncertainty of my new life. Take it to date again in my 50’s and enter the crazy world of on-line dating. Eventually, take it to deal with the loneliness of my emptying nest after being a stay-at-home mom.
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It wasn’t all terrible though. The upheaval woke me up to the fact that I’d been sleepwalking through my life. After devoting two decades to raising kids, I realized my life was more than half over and I was clueless about who I was. Yes, I was a mom (and I loved being a mom), but what else? What am I doing and why the f*k am I here?
So I did what many smart, but frantic and totally overwhelmed middle-aged women in crisis might do. I got an amazing life coach (who I still see to this day, as needed … yes, even coaches need coaches!), read every book I could find on divorce and other midlife stuff, and latched on to a handful of brilliant voices in the personal growth field, signing up for classes and webinars like a mad woman.
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But I was still dulling it all with booze.
I knew that my drinking was a problem and was holding me back. I thought way too much about alcohol and I had way too many hangovers. I’d put rules in place to moderate better, just to break them weeks later. When I took breaks, I was always using will-power, which inevitably ran out. But I wasn’t at “rock bottom” - whatever the heck that was. And I didn’t identify with the term “alcoholic” or have any desire to label myself such. I knew enough about AA to know it wasn’t right for me. So I kept on this cycle of over-drinking, followed by new rules and short breaks, but then right back at it.
On and on for years.
Until quite accidentally (are there really any accidents?) I found Annie Grace and This Naked Mind. With TNM I got very curious about my drinking and dove into the science of what booze was doing to my body and brain. More importantly, I let go of the shame and blame and started to shower myself with some serious compassion.
It’s been over two years since my last drink. I don’t miss it a bit and I’m happier than ever. Not surprisingly, I also met my partner during this time. I am present for this special relationship and for my relationship with my kids who are all young adults now and doing their thing. Life is not perfect, it never is. But I navigate life with a lightness and levity that seemed impossible ten years ago. I'd love to help you re-discover this levity too.
