Latest news with #LucyRocca


The Sun
4 days ago
- The Sun
I turned to drink when I became a single mum, I'd blackout & have run-ins with police, but a dog walk changed everything
LIKE MANY of us, Lucy Rocca's relationship with booze started when she was just a teen, binge drinking on a Friday night. But as she got older, Lucy couldn't shake her need to drink to escape reality. 3 The mother-of-two, now 49, did well at school and went on to study law, and didn't see a problem with being a party girl as everyone was doing it. But Lucy was able to stop drinking at the age of 22 when she found out she was pregnant with her first daughter and stayed away from the booze while breastfeeding. But she soon went back to her old ways after nursing, she revealed: "It was a bottle of wine most nights with my husband." "But I didn't feel then that I had a dependency on it. I never felt like I was using alcohol to self-medicate - which, now, when I look back, I can see that I really was." Lucy says that while she drank a bottle of wine every night, she never saw it as a problem as she didn't consume it in the day or drink and drive. "We were buying really nice bottles of red wine and having one between us every night, thinking it was really grown up and sophisticated," she told FEMAIL. But her relationship with alcohol drastically changed when her husband left her a single mum at the age of 27, and she hit the 'self-destruct' button. She recalls drinking a bottle of wine every night after her daughter had gone to bed, using it as a crutch for husband walking out. Now, her days of drinking had become 'outright dangerous' and had even led the mum to have run-ins with the police. One particularly bad episode Lucy remembers is attending a concert with her boyfriend at the time. 3 I'm a mum of two, did drugs, drank wine everynight and didn't think I had an issue - it wasn't until a night at my parents which made me realise I was a functioning alcoholic She revealed she got so drunk that she lost him and woke up at midnight under a tree in Hyde Park with her belongings gone. "I'd lost my purse, my phone, my boyfriend. Two policemen were stood over me and I just couldn't remember anything," she adds. Lucy went into detox mode after the event, but found herself in a cycle of binging and then not drinking for weeks for the next six years. Nobody questioned her habits, she says, adding that it was normal for her generation to do it. "Given the cultural context [of the 1990s and early 2000s] that I was drinking in, it wasn't seen as this horrific thing," she explained. In 2010, when Lucy had completed her law degree, she struggled to get a job and found herself at a new low. One evening, she downed three bottles of wine while her daughter stayed with her dad and decided to talk the dog for a late night walk that changed her life forever. Lucy was so drunk she didn't make it home and collapsed in the middle of the street. What to do if you think are an alcoholic IF you're struggling with alcohol addiction, the most important thing is to recognise the problem and seek support - You don't have to face it alone. Seek Professional Help GP or Doctor – A medical professional can assess your situation and provide advice on treatment options. Therapists or Counsellors – Talking to an addiction specialist can help address underlying causes and develop coping strategies. Rehab or Detox Programmes – If physical dependence is severe, medically supervised detox may be necessary. Consider Support Groups Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – A well-known 12-step programme that provides peer support. SMART Recovery – A science-based alternative to AA, focusing on self-empowerment. Local Support Groups – Many communities have groups tailored to different needs. It was only after a friend driving by had spotted her and called an ambulance that she got to safety. Lucy found herself in Sheffield General Hopsital and said it was the 'wake up call' she needed. She explained: "I just thought, 'That's it, I'm done.' I was terrified of drinking because of what had happened on that night. "Waking up in hospital was truly the most horrendous thing. I was so ashamed and it just rocked me to the core." Lucy spent the next 18 months sober before asking herself if she could drink again. That's when she realised she was much happier without it. Now, Lucy has launched Soberistas - an online 'community of non-judgmental people, helping one another to kick the booze and stay sober.' Having become a charity in 2023, Soberistas has grown into Lucy's fulltime job as she hits 14 years of sobriety. "One of the biggest problems that stopped people getting sober was that they were just too ashamed to talk about it - so they carried on drinking," she said. Now Soberistas provides a platform for people to talk anonymously about their drinking habits and find support.


Daily Mail
12-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Lucy turned to drink when a sudden split at 27 left her a single mother. Despite regular blackouts, she didn't think she had a problem - until a midweek bender had disastrous consequences
Lucy Rocca's relationship with alcohol developed in much the same way as many British teenagers. In her early teens, Lucy and her pals would steal wine from their parents and take it to the school grounds where they congregated after hours. They'd crack open a bottle or two and pass the booze round as they smoked cigarettes which, while taboo, was a reality for many adolescents in the late 1980s. 'It was just completely normalised,' Lucy, who grew up in a middle class suburb of Sheffield, recalled. 'I never thought there was anything wrong with it.' The mother-of-two, now 49, who did well at school and would eventually go on to study law, continued drinking throughout her teens and well into her twenties but, as a self-confessed party girl, she didn't think it was an issue. When she became pregnant at 22, Lucy calmed down and stopped drinking completely. But, while she abstained from alcohol while she was breastfeeding, Lucy was back to her old ways soon after she stopped nursing. 'It was a bottle of wine most nights with my husband,' she said. 'But I didn't feel then that I had a dependency on it. I never felt like I was using alcohol to self-medicate - which, now, when I look back, I can see that I really was.' Although she drank 'consistently at home every night', Lucy didn't consider that she had a problem with alcohol because she didn't consume it during the day and never drove while under the influence. She recalls the days of the 1990s when a narrative developed that red wine was 'good for you' - which led drinkers to indulge in their favourite vice totally guilt-free. 'We were buying really nice bottles of red wine and having one between us every night, thinking it was really grown up and sophisticated,' she recalled. Everything changed, however, when Lucy's marriage broke down unexpectedly after four years. 'It was when my husband left when I was 27 that I just really hit self-destruct,' she added. 'I started drinking a bottle of wine every night on my own after my daughter had gone to bed. I'd started then to kind of lean on it as a crutch.' Left 'totally floored' when her husband 'just walked out one day,' Lucy now sees that she 'didn't have any coping mechanisms' at that time. 'I certainly had no awareness of the impact it was having on my mental health,' she said. As Lucy's drinking escalated, she found herself in situations that were no longer simply 'hedonistic,' but outright dangerous, eventually ending up in hospital. When reflecting on all the times her drinking drove her into harm's way, she said: 'There are too many.' One of the worst episodes was when Lucy went to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers perform in London's Hyde Park in the early 2000s. 'I'd gone with my boyfriend and got really, really drunk, and I'd lost him,' Lucy said. 'Then I woke up under a tree at midnight and the whole of Hyde Park was emptying out. 'I'd lost my purse, my phone, my boyfriend. Two policemen were stood over me and I just couldn't remember anything. 'The whole night had gone.' After this 'catastrophic' experience, Lucy went into detox mode, abstaining from alcohol altogether and prioritising exercise- something that became a regular pattern before she eventually picked up a drink again, only for the cycle to repeat itself. 'I would just stop for about six weeks,' she explained. 'I would go on a detox. A keen runner and frequent gymgoer, she'd 'ramp up the exercise and drink loads of healthy smoothies.' But, by the time she'd gone a significant period without alcohol - whether a month or six weeks - she'd say to herself: 'Well, I've done a month now, so it's fine - I obviously haven't got a problem.' For the next six years, Lucy continued in a pattern of drinking heavily before going teetotal for a few weeks. During this time, neither friends nor family challenged her habits, partly because they all enjoyed a drink too. 'they were all heavy drinkers.' 'When I had those nights [where I blacked out], people would just kind of think, "Oh, she's had one too many. She's taking it a bit far." 'Given the cultural context [of the 1990s and early 2000s] that I was drinking in, it wasn't seen as this horrific thing.' In a similar way, Lucy would never have called herself an alcoholic. 'I was a binge drinker and I just quite frequently got drunk without meaning to. 'I would go out and think, "I'm just going to have two," and then I'd end up getting really drunk and fall over, and friends would have to get me home in a taxi. 'Nobody ever challenged me. Nobody, whether family or friends, ever said: "I think you've got a massive problem with alcohol."' While Lucy remembers having a 'kind of gut feeling' that her drinking 'wasn't very healthy,' it was taking place in a climate of 'normalised binge drinking.' In 2010, Lucy had completed her law degree but had failed to get a training contract with a law firm. Having spent all her savings on going back to university, she was feeling 'very low' and wasn't sure what to do next. Her drinking ramped up until one night she ended up having three bottles of wine in one go. 'My daughter was at her dad's again and I drank three bottles of wine, which was huge - a lot for me, even,' she recalled. Rather than going to bed, Lucy decided to take her dog out for a late night walk at 10pm. Yet, she was so drunk that she didn't make it home, instead collapsing on the street. Unconscious and surrounded by vomit, Lucy could easily have been hit by a car as the panicked pooch ran around in the middle of the road. Fortunately, a friend was driving past at that time and, having spotted Lucy, called an ambulance. She said: 'I woke up in Sheffield General Hospital at about three o'clock in the morning. 'It was just an absolutely massive wake-up call.' While Lucy was sent home from hospital relatively quickly, that experience proved to be a real turning point for her. She explained: 'I just thought, "That's it, I'm done." I was terrified of drinking because of what had happened on that night. 'Waking up in hospital was truly the most horrendous thing. I was so ashamed and it just rocked me to the core. 'I just couldn't have contemplated drinking again after that.' Lucy's fear of alcohol got her through 'a good 18 months [of sobriety]', but it wasn't always plain sailing. While alcohol was off the cards - Lucy never drank again after that awful near miss in April 2011 - she had to learn to 'live without that crutch.' 'I suppose there were emotional issues that I had to confront,' she said. Lucy's progress during this period kept her sober even when she reached the point where she thought to herself: 'I wonder if I could drink again?' 'About 18 months had passed and I'd realised I was so much happier. 'My mental health problems had all gone. I was a better mum, I had a better life and I was starting to just feel happy again. 'There was just no way that I would have gone back to it because it was literally night and day between the drinking days [and what came after]. 'My life had just completely changed.' But Lucy's sober journey doesn't end there. In November 2012, she launched Soberistas - an online 'community of non-judgmental people, helping one another to kick the booze and stay sober.' While Lucy had attended a charity called Sheffield Alcohol Support Service in the aftermath of her hospitalisation, she found that 'it didn't speak' to her at all. 'There were posters on the wall about needle exchange and it was run by ex street drinkers who were in recovery. 'My drinking was really, really different. I've never drunk spirits. I'd never drink in the day. I've never been involved with the social services. 'It was all party drinking, really, that just got slightly out of hand, and I felt like a fraud. 'I was drinking a bottle of Chardonnay every night and I was in a room with people who'd been drinking a litre of vodka every day. It was just completely different.' Lucy felt similarly ill at ease at Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), largely because of the way that members are encouraged to label themselves as alcoholics and the organisation's 'one day at a time' approach. 'I thought, actually, I don't want to call myself an alcoholic and think I'm in recovery for the rest of my life,' she explained. 'I'd rather see it as a choice and something positive that I'm doing myself because that just feels a lot more motivational than labeling myself and doing it one day at a time through gritted teeth. 'I didn't think I was an alcoholic because I wasn't physically addicted to alcohol and I just didn't like that word.' Lucy, who prefers to use the term 'alcohol use disorder', was sure that AA was never going to work for her - but she still wanted to be part of a community. Soberistas, then, was born out of her sense that she had no where to go - and her strong belief that there must be others who felt the same way. 'I just remember having a very clear, sudden idea that it was really necessary to have an online space where people could just be open about their drink issues with people who understood and wouldn't judge them,' Lucy said. 'It seemed like there was this massive gap. It just wasn't there and it needed to be. 'I felt quite angry about the way that people who have realised that they want to stop drinking have to pigeonhole themselves and call themselves an alcoholic and go to AA. 'What if that doesn't appeal to you? I want to see [getting and staying sober] as a positive thing and I want it to be an aspirational lifestyle choice. 'I don't want it to be a thing that I beat myself with for the rest of my life.' Lucy leapt into action, calling on her then-boyfriend to help her set up a website. 'It just took off,' Lucy recalled. 'I contacted Alistair Campbell when I was trying to get the word out there and he asked if I wanted to post a blog on his blog.' Lucy's post was picked up by the press and, as a result, Soberistas 'just snowballed', with 20,000 people signing up in the first year. Reflecting on the organisation's early success, Lucy said: 'I think there's this hidden demographic, this hidden group of women, mostly aged between 40 and 65, who really felt like they had this problem [with alcohol] but that they weren't quite bad enough for AA or rehab. 'But they didn't know where else to go, so they just carried on drinking in secret.' Today, with 70,000 people registered and 5,000 subscribers, Soberistas runs chat rooms where people can post about their issues with alcohol, as well as smaller groups where people are accountable to each other. 'It's mostly the anonymity of it that appeals,' Lucy said. 'You can be completely anonymous and connect with people who'll support you in your efforts to stay sober.' Lucy herself is sure that Soberistas and the support the community provides has been invaluable during her 14 years of sobriety. 'It's just a really nice, non-judgmental space - and that works for me. 'I think one of the biggest things I wanted to to achieve with Soberistas was having somewhere that was free from judgement. 'I felt this kind of hypocrisy in society, with people judging those with alcohol issues. 'One of the biggest problems that stopped people getting sober was that they were just too ashamed to talk about it - so they carried on drinking.' Having become a charity in 2023, Soberistas has grown into Lucy's fulltime job. And, while it can be a lot of work, especially with the charity management element, she's motivated by the knowledge that it's given countless people like herself a lifeline. 'It was definitely needed,' she said confidently.