Introduce yourself! Who are you?
Hello! My name is Demi Lucero. I am a 27 year old truth-seeker, over-thinker and recovering alcoholic. I run a blog at www.mindfultimes.co where I write about my struggle with alcohol abuse and offer encouragement to anybody who is considering sobriety as a way of life. Alcohol and alcoholism are such taboo topics that most people feel uncomfortable addressing or acknowledging, but the reality is that most people who drink aren’t satisfied with the way it makes them feel. I’ve created a community of open-minded, supportive and non-judgemental individuals who all share the same goal which is to take back control of their lives.

What would you say to 16 year old you?
I would say – “all of the pain and suffering that you are experiencing, and will continue to experience, are for a greater purpose. I wish I could take it all away, but if I did that, you wouldn’t become the woman you are meant to be. In order to have the perspective, tools and knowledge necessary to carry out your life’s mission, you must experience these hard truths. Have faith in knowing that you will one day look back and feel grateful.”

When and how did you decide that you wanted to quit?
It took me many years of trying and failing to get sober before it actually stuck. Like most people, I was terrified of the idea of giving up alcohol forever. I had built my life, relationships and friendships around alcohol and I felt that if I gave it up forever I would be giving up all of those things as well. My life as I knew it would change completely. It was this fear that kept me in the this toxic cycle that was ruining my life. After each “episode” or “blackout” I would vow to never drink again. Sometimes I’d go a few days, sometimes a few weeks and even sometimes a few months. But I always went back to the bottle. When people ask me how I finally got sober, all I can really come up with is the cliche “I got sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.” Alcohol had drained my soul and turned me into a person I no longer recognized. I was fed up with living a life not in alignment with my true self. I finally made the decision to give up alcohol for good and once I made that firm decision, alcohol lost all power over me. I decided that anyone or anything that wasn’t supportive of my sobriety had no place in my life. From that moment on, I’ve watched my life blossom.

What do you love most about yourself?
I love my self-awareness, my compassion and my ability to see a world that is suffering and have the strength to harness my fire and passion to help heal it. 

If there are others who feel the same as you, what would you like to tell them?
If you struggle with alcohol, just know it’s not your fault. It’s not some fault in your DNA, you are not “broken” and you can get through this. A lot of things in your life may need to change to get there and I may seem scary, but what waits for you on the other side is so worth it. Alcohol has taken your power and it’s time to get it back. This is YOUR life, YOU are in control and YOU get to choose what and who gets the privilege of being a part of it. 

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned along the way?
That we need to heal. As a community, as a collective consciousness, as human beings, we need to heal. We are all so full of hurt and pain and instead of leaning into it we run away. We use things like drugs, alcohol, food, work, pornography, television etc. to temporarily “escape”. These feelings are inescapable and will manifest in your life in harmful ways. It’s time that we dust ourselves off and prepare for battle. It’s time that we take back what we lost and go to war for our freedom. Alcohol won’t control us.