A mum who used to down a litre of vodka with a friend 'for fun' has revealed how she managed to quit drink before it killed her.
Megan Montague's alcoholism was so severe it meant getting drunk regularly and not even knowing how she got home.
For the mum-of-two heavy boozing was a normal part of her life.
She held down jobs and had a good social and family life, but she eventually realised, at the age of 30, she needed to quit.
She said: "I used to get obliterated all the time. Sharing a litre of vodka with a friend 'for fun'."
Her addiction began as a teenager spending most weekends binge drinking with friends. But then it got worse.
Following nights out with friends she'd wake up with mysterious bruises and "there were nights I couldn't remember getting home," she said.
She has opened up about her relationship with alcohol on her blog Sober Story, which documents her life as a drinker compared with her more wholesome sober lifestyle.
Megan says she also abused alcohol to try to deal with the stress and solitude of running her own business as a financial consultant and trying to raise two young children alone.
She had her first child, a daughter, in 2012, then a son in 2014, but the breakup with their dad in 2015 hit her hard, as did an accident in which her father nearly drowned.
Megan said: "It was a build up of a lot of difficult situations and emotions - dealing with the break up and my dad almost dying. I'd been trying to avoid feeling a lot of things and turned to wine."
Eventually she was drinking every day to try to feel better, but always feeling worse the morning after, whether she'd been out with friends or downing bottle of wine at home alone.
To the outside world she may have looked like a successful young mum but behind closed doors it was a different story with her kids.
She said: "I was so depleted, so lacking in energy, just so impatient with them. I didn't have the energy to do stuff with them.
"I found them so overwhelming a lot of the time - it just felt like a constant battle."
After a decade of trying to drink her problems away, at the age of 30 Megan decided enough was enough.
"I knew if I carried on then I'd die," she said. "If it carried on it wouldn't carry on for much longer."
On another hungover morning, following a friend's party, Megan stumbled across Catherine Gray and her account Unexpected Joy of Being Sober (@unexpectedjoyof) on Instagram.
The author was running Sober Spring, a 90-day challenge encouraging people to stop drinking.
Megan had been debating quitting alcohol for months but it turned out this was the support group for her.
She joined the challenge, and got advice and encouragement from others in their WhatsApp group.
"In terms of community it was really helpful," she said.
Family and friends were also supportive, but it was by no means a quick, easy fix.
"I had to spend a long time retraining myself," Megan said.
She has found that a combination of small habits throughout the day, from drinking more water and eating properly to journaling are among the things that help her stay healthy and alcohol-free.
"I just feel better looked after and better prepared to deal with the stress of life," she said.
Her healthier habits even served her when she lost her father, who had Parkinson's, this year.
Megan has been sober for more than a year and runs her blog and Instagram account, sharing pictures and messages to help other young women realise they don't need alcohol to feel okay.
In a recent blog post she shared what a year of being sober has taught her.
She wrote: "I really feel that this is only the beginning of what is possible for me and for my life.
"I have learned that I am not the anxious, angry, sad mess that I believed I was.
"I do not need to punish myself and I do not need to spend my life worrying about every single thing.
"I have learned that I can trust my judgement.
"I have learned that my feelings do not need to rule my life and dictate my actions.
"I can observe the chaos of life without partaking in it."
