Yup, I had that image of the perfect mom/career woman. A single mom at that. The dirty little secret is that inside I was dying. I felt so much shame and exhaustion...and then there was my teen's growing concern and anger. The fact is, you can only keep up that facade for so long and mine was starting to crumble.
Why did I drink? Everything you mentioned. I thought of drinking as my reward after a long day.
Anyhow, I'm getting close to a month sober and I can say that this is soooo much better. I feel like a new person already. I'm really glad I made this choice for myself!
Delfin