"I am a caretaker for my spouse, married 30 years in August 2023, who suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury in 2006.  The stress of having to take care of him on a daily basis and make sure everything he needs/wants is met, dealing with his anxiety, paranoia, physical and mental issues and other effects of the TBI would initially cause me such stress that I would resort to drinking in the evenings just to cope with everything I was dealing with after his TBI.  I became a single parent, caregiver, breadwinner, and 100% responsible for every aspect of our families' lives.  One drink every other night turned into one drink every night, to two drinks every night, and eventually became finishing off a bottle of alcohol every other day.  This is what I would do every evening after I got my family settled for the night.  This went on for years, no one knowing that I was drinking heavily after everyone was asleep, to the point I would pass out.  I had gotten so good at hiding it, no one had a clue.  Eventually, I could not hide the effects the alcohol had after an evening of drinking and my family got suspicious.  I denied it at first, for several years.  But one day, shortly after our granddaughter was born, I woke one morning and looked in the mirror and did not recognize the person staring back at me.  It was at that point that I realized that alcohol was running my life.  I had begun to crave it every night and found I could not sleep without it, that was when I realized that for my entire family, I had to get sober.  That was Nov. 8, 2023, and I have not had a drop of alcohol since that day.  It is hard, I struggle with craving alcohol every day, but I want to live for my family, my children and my grandchildren and I know that alcohol is not going to help me accomplish that goal."