Courtney Chipman| A Fear of Abandonment Leads to Alcohol and Drug Abuse

Courtney is 33 years young and lives in Orange County, California. She has struggled with mental health issues including OCD, Depression, and Anxiety from a very young age. Her parents divorced when she was 8 months old. Her biological father, although he had visitation rights, rarely exercised them. There were many times when her mother would tell her he was coming to get her for the weekend but then he wouldn't show up. When Courtney was around 5 years old, her mother remarried a wonderful man, who chose a career as a police officer until he retired. She called him dad. They had a very good marriage and Courtney had a sister later on. Life should have been better, and for the most part, it was.  The fear of abandonment set in, even though at the time, she didn't know that's what was going on with her mental state of mind. Her biological father was in and out of jail and was into many drugs and alcohol. Courtney decided to see why her biological father liked alcohol and drugs so much that he chose them over her. And so began her preteen years of drinking. Hmmm. It sort of worked. It eased the emotional pain for a little while.  She started dealing with alcohol and drug addiction at 15. Not even realizing it, she became codependent until she was in her late twenties.  At times, she had been completely addicted to success and other people's approval.  For more than half of her life, she used anything outside of herself to fix what felt wrong internally. It wasn't until she got into therapy and rehab that she really started to heal internally and now has been able to have self-love and sobriety. These as Courtney's words. Social Media:  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the.sobercourtney Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thechristycollier and https://www.instagram.com/lifestrugglespodcast To be a guest on my show: send an email to [e-mail] If you are in need of getting sober please dial 988 on your phone and you will be connected to a counselor in your state according to your area code. If your area code is not in the state that you now live in, they will transfer you to the state you live in.