“Waking up on my bathroom floor, I groaned. My head was pounding and I was covered in my own vomit. ‘This can’t be normal, people don’t live like this,’ I thought, as I stumbled to my feet," remembers Lucy da Silva, 42.
“Realising I needed to get help, I dialled The Priory, knowing that my work’s health insurance covered treatment there.
“Making my way there with just the clothes on my back, it dawned on me that I seriously needed help."
Drinking too much
“I first dipped my toe into drinking as a teen, getting drunk at parties with mates where we would guzzle alcopops. Growing up in a broken home, I didn’t have much guidance, and drinking quickly became the norm. I always took it too far, drinking until I blacked out.
“Leaving home at 16, my love for boozing continued as I worked abroad, singing at holiday resorts.
“In my early 20s, I landed my first city job in London at a stockbroker's. Here, the drinking went up a notch. Drinking in the city was so normal, and turning up to the office still half-cut from the night before was celebrated.
“Most nights I’d sink glass after glass of wine, often waking up with a hazy memory and covered in the biggest black bruises.
“When I split from my boyfriend aged 26, things spiralled. Distraught, I spent evenings drinking alone at home and almost always blacking out. All of my money went on alcohol and most of the time I was either drunk or hungover.
“Things at work started to get bad and I was struggling to hold down my job. Too hungover to come to the office, I’d often lie to my team, blaming a family death or broken dishwasher for having to work from home.”
Getting clean
“So when I entered The Priory aged 30, it was well overdue.
“There, I did the 12-step programme, a form of therapy created to specifically help addicts. The first few days were awful as my body suffered from the physical withdrawals. Regularly throwing up and constantly shaking, I endured horrendous headaches.”
“‘You need to feel the pain,’ one of the nurses explained.
“Each day was a little easier and I threw myself into meetings and therapy, working to understand my addiction. I realised I’d been pouring alcohol on top of my trauma that hadn’t healed.
“After 28 days, I left rehab. I made amends with people I’d let down, especially my work team. Explaining to them why I was in rehab and about my recovery was empowering.
“Two years later, I ended up relapsing when I went to a wedding. Heading straight back to rehab, I spent another 28 days there.
“Since then, I haven't touched a drop of alcohol. Realising how done I was with drinking, I filled my weekends with running, cooking and singing. I’d thought giving up booze was the end of my life, but it was actually the beginning."
A new chapter
“I met my now-husband, Alex, and we had two beautiful babies together – a life that I never imagined.
“Wanting to help others, I studied for a Master's in addiction and became a psychotherapist, working at a clinic on Harley Street.
“Alex and I had often discussed the idea of opening up our own clinic, using a holistic approach to help people heal and reconnect. We wanted to build a community and bring people together.
“Incredibly, I found someone who wanted to fund a holistic clinic, so we decided to take the plunge and go for it. Last September, we opened Silva Wellness, offering a range of different treatments including breathwork, ketamine lozenge therapy and psychotherapy.
“Before I even left rehab, I told my counsellors, ‘I want to do what you do,’ as they truly saved my life.
“I knew it was my path and it feels so good to support people who are going through a similar situation to what I experienced.
“I’ve now been sober for a decade, which is something that I never imagined possible. I hope someone reading this will feel inspired, as you really can change your life at any point. You just have to put your mind to it.”
