Cheryl Burke shared some details about the sobriety challenges she’s experiencing these days. In particular, the Dancing With the Stars pro explained in a YouTube video how a recent vacation in Hawaii brought up a lot of triggers for her.
Before posting the full video, Burke shared a teaser on Instagram. “To say that my sobriety has been easy would be a lie. I’ve decided to make sure I hold myself accountable by sharing with you how hard it has been to maintain my sobriety,” she wrote in the caption.
In the full video, Burke said she quit drinking nearly three years ago, calling it a “huge turning point” in her life. And part of staying sober for her is being open and honest with her fans. “I’m here to confess that lately staying sober has been a little bit of a challenge for me,” she said in the video. “And recently I’ve been thinking a lot about drinking again. I decided to hold myself by confessing my anxious feelings.”
Rather than going to an inpatient facility or using a 12-step program, Burke says she decided to become sober with the help of a therapist she’s worked closely with over the last decade. But now she’s considering facing her anxiety and entering a 12-step program.
And, recently, going on vacation in Hawaii and having “that carefree feeling of being under the sun” was another trigger for her. Burke also said that her husband had a glass of champagne there and she missed the smell of it. While in Hawaii, Burke missed out on recording her podcast, Pretty Messed Up, which she says has become a safe space for her to speak about her sobriety and hear from others. Seeing how missing out on that made her feel also made her realize that “I need to surround myself with more sober people,” she said.
“My go-to is booze, anything that numbs and gets me out of my head,” Burke said. “There’s so much chaos going on in my life that in the past everybody always used to say, ‘I don’t know how you do it all,'” she continued. “But I did it all because I was numbing through it. And now for the first time through all the chaos I’m actually having to feel it and to feel uncomfortable.”
Burke said she’s “really committed” to staying sober—even when it means surviving those uncomfortable feelings. “And I know the first thing to do when you have those anxious feelings is to be able to talk about it,” she continued.
“For those of you who may struggle with any type of addiction, please reach out to a professional,” Burke urged her fans. “Or if that makes you feel overwhelmed or full of anxiety, please share your story with your friends, family, or any space where you feel safe enough to be vulnerable.”
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