The Link Between Binge Drinking and Suicide

Colleen Clifford lost her husband Scott to suicide 15 years ago, after a day of binge drinking. She kept binge drinking for ten more years before she finally quit.Colleen is a commercial fisherwoman, a suicide prevention advocate and the author of Life Beyond the Binge: A Commercial Fisherwoman’s Journey Home. She shares about grief after suicide, the drive home drunk that made her quit drinking five years ago, and what she calls the 95/5 trap, the reason so many functional drinkers don’t think they have a problem.“I woke up before I hit rock bottom,” she said.She also explains why her drinking wasn’t really about the grief. She could cry about Scott without a drink. It went back to a shame story she created at 19, that she was unlovable, and buried so deep she forgot it was there. Now she asks people to question the stories they tell themselves and whether those stories are even true.Fifteen years later, Colleen said she’s “learned how to move through life carrying the grief with me in a healthy way.” She also talks about a stranger who had a dream about Scott a month after he died, holding the salmon colored cowboy boots Colleen had just thrown away. That dream told her he was at peace. Melodi has her own boots story, a message from her son Brandon after he passed that it was her turn now.Any money Colleen makes from her book goes to Mothers Against Drunk Driving. Find Colleen: lifebeyondthebinge.comIf you’re thinking about suicide, or worried about someone who is, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (US, 24/7). In Colleen’s words, “There are compassionate people waiting to help on the other end of that.” Patreon: Get more from Solemates | The Gateway Community on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/u79486265 The Intuitive Wonderland | Sequim WA https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083574212058 Return Retreat: RETURN 2027 | Women's Transformational Retreat in Riviera Maya https://www.patreon.com/u79486265 For Psychotherapy or psychedelic prep/integration: https://ipctherapy.com/ #suicideprevention #sobriety #mentalhealth #griefrecovery #988lifeline