If it is good enough for Adele, it’s good enough for me

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot in common with Adele.

• Great singing voice (Adele = yes, Me = definitely not)
• World-wide fame and adoring fans (Adele = yes, Me = sadly no!)
• Front-cover of both British and US Vogue (Adele = yes and wow!, Me = not anytime soon ever)

However, what we do have in common is that we both used alcohol to deal with life’s stresses.

During an interview with Oprah to promote her new album 30, Adele talked about how her drinking had increased to cope with her anxiety, divorce and becoming a single mum.

When she realised that drinking wasn’t a great solution, she turned to healthier ways to manage her stress and anxiety including working out and stopping drinking.

“I stopped drinking,” she told Oprah. “That’s one great way of really sort of getting to know yourself, is just drinking water and being sober as anything.”

She also learnt to tune into her negative feelings rather than numb them.

“Whenever I noticed how I was feeling, I would sit down and sit in it,” she said.

Like Adele, I used alcohol to deal with stress until I realised it wasn’t actually the panacea I thought it was.

That was part of the reason that I decided to take a break from alcohol – I wanted to cut back on my drinking and feel better physically and mentally.

What I didn’t realise at the time was that it would also help me to become much more aware of my emotional wellbeing.

I soon learnt that when I was no longer reaching for a glass of wine to numb negative emotions, I became much more attuned to my emotions – the good, the bad and the ugly.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a chart-topping album like Adele to show for my lifestyle change, but I do feel so much better in body, mind and spirit.

And surely that’s equally as good as any of the Grammys that Adele is certain to win. Right?