Pollyism of the week
In the last few weeks, I’ve lost the light and warmth of two beautiful young women, and the tragedy is that both were alcohol-related.
They were brilliant, educated, beautiful, funny, sweet, kind, bright, young and exceptional women. They were both physically gifted with bodies that wanted to perform great things and both represented our country in sport.
These two women didn’t know each other, but both knew the black, insidious disease of alcoholism.
The world’s lost its sparkle and a heap of potential, and left behind baffled friends and family, heartbroken lovers and beautiful babies without their mothers.
One is dead at 29. How clearly I remember her so sweetly commenting on my eyebrows. I sent her off to my friend Cherie at Feather Touch. She looked amazing afterwards. We would text each other and I knew staying sober was tough.
I don’t understand how some people get the gift of sobriety pretty much straight away when they seek help, while others are like people swept away in a fast-flowing river, who can’t manage to grab a branch and pull themselves out.
Most people can drink safely. Most people can even be heavy social drinkers, but there’s a difference between a heavy drinker and an alcoholic. If you can’t decide when and where you’ll drink (like you say I’m not drinking tonight and then get off your face) or once you start, you just can’t stop and the more you drink, the more you want it ... well, in my opinion those are strong reasons to ask yourself if you have a physical allergy to booze.
Today in New Zealand we have thousands and thousands of young people all waking up each morning, going, “Oh no! What did I do? Where’s my phone? Who the f*** are you? Oh, not again! Where am I? How did this happen again? God help me!”
I’ve lost two beautiful, vibrant beacons of hope recently, and I guess I want you to know that if your drinking is scaring you, don’t think, “Well, it won’t kill me!”
Most of us are normal drinkers and can stop at one or two, and really don’t care too much if an event is dry, but alcohol can kill if you have a disease that compels you to drink more and more. If it feels like one is too many but a thousand wouldn’t be enough, then whoa baby, get help.
Please, please don’t be another sparkly beautiful flame snuffed out. You can always talk to me or lots of other people who have been where you are. Don’t die. The world needs you. Your kids need you. Your partner, family, friends, workmates and even I need you.
A lot of us are here to tell you what we did to throw off the blanket of addiction and walk free.
See you on the other side, sisters “L” and “K”. My heart aches and aches and aches ...