‘I was drinking heavily since I was 13’: Yumi Stynes reveals the harrowing extent of her alcoholism and the withdrawal symptoms that made her feel ‘like a junkie’
Television and radio personality Yumi Stynes has penned a brutally honest open letter about her battle with alcoholism.
The 44-year-old admitted she felt like a ‘junkie’ when she first tried to quit drinking due to the harrowing withdrawal symptoms she experienced.
‘Those first days [of sobriety], I felt like a junkie, the way the cravings came on and I wanted to drink and the embarrassment of it, of being that person, that thirsty b**ch,’ she wrote, as reported by the ABC.
‘I’d been drinking heavily since I was 13’: Yumi Stynes (pictured) has revealed the harrowing extent of her alcoholism and the withdrawal symptoms that made her feel ‘like a junkie’
‘I think if you can make it through the first two weeks, you’re in with a chance,’ she added. ‘So I made it through, and it’s been two-and-a-half years.’
Yumi explained that it wasn’t until she had her first baby at 25 that she understood what it felt like to not wake up with a hangover.
She added: ‘I was very addicted to alcohol. I’d been drinking heavily since I was 13 and from a family that had lots of alcohol around. Boozing daily was all very normal.’
Open letter: ‘I was very addicted to alcohol. I’d been drinking heavily since I was 13 and from a family that had lots of alcohol around. Boozing daily was all very normal,’ Yumi said
Eventually, Yumi realised that she had to quit drinking entirely and wasn’t the sort of person who could simply enjoy alcohol ‘in moderation’.
In February, the 3pm Pick-Up presenter confessed that ‘one drink was never enough’.
‘I loved to drink. It was the medicine that got me through life,’ she said, adding that she first starting drinking liquor as a young teenager.
The mother-of-four has vowed she will never start drinking again, saying that sobriety is the best decision for her.
No going back: In an open letter published by the ABC, Yumi revealed she had been sober for two-and-a-half years
Getting sober: After years of alcoholism, Yumi realised that she had to quit drinking entirely and wasn’t the sort of person who could simply enjoy a tipple ‘in moderation’
She previously said that getting sober opened up doors in both her career and personal life.
‘It’s like you quit drinking and suddenly all this s**t opens up, wide open,’ she said. ‘All the things you couldn’t do or were too hard, that’s the s**t you can do now you’re sober.’
For support with alcohol-related problems and addiction you can contact one of the many services available, speak to your GP, local health service or call a helpline
‘All the things you couldn’t do or were too hard, you can do now you’re sober’: Yumi has said that getting sober opened up doors in both her career and personal life. Pictured on Studio 10