ABOUT HEATHER
HELLO FRIEND!
I know just how frightening it is when you start to depend on a drink. I know how scared you are to get help, or even admit drinking might be an issue.
You are NOT alone and you do NOT have to go through this alone!
There is a whole badass sober community out there for you. I can show you the way through the dark, and get your inner light shining again.
I have developed everything you need to illuminate your path. Take my hand, and I will lead you to freedom from thinking about drinking. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.
No one ever regretted getting free from alcohol.
The time is now, don’t waste another second of your precious life.
WINE CULTURE
My drinking had always been an accepted and a "normal" part of my life. My relationship with alcohol started to change when I was faced with heartbreaking grief, working mom overwhelm, my own people pleasing, over functioning and perfectionist tendencies. Suddenly in mid life, alcohol was no longer social and became a private medicine that I administered every night, on the couch alone. My tolerance increased and I continually broke promises to my family and myself, by drinking more than I had planned. I woke up every day in a panic.
In an effort to try to help myself, I talked to a therapist and was prescribed an anti anxiety medication. The meds combined with drinking, resulted in me becoming a walking blackout, on more than one embarrassing occasion. My drinking was getting out of control, and I couldn’t stop it.
This would have been a good time to quit, but now my brain had started to depend on alcohol. I could not feel good without it. The drink became both the cure and the poison. The drink took over me. The drink did not make me feel good, but it did temporarily satisfy my craving. I was desperate for some relief from being myself. I was self medicating to avoid my overwhelming feelings of sadness, grief, fear, and pain.
After the initial relief of a sip of wine, drinking left me feeling guilty, depressed, ashamed, and self loathing.
Every.
Single.
Day.
To be honest, I would never stay sober if I wasn't having any fun.
Let's party, hangover free.
JOIN MY INSIDERS MEMBERSHIP
MY BACKGROUND
After a lifetime of normalized drinking in the midwest, and proudy identifying as an outgoing party girl, I knew my alcohol intake was increasing and it was not helping me. Still, I desperately wanted to keep alcohol in my life. So I did a few Sober Challenges over a series of three years. If I could give up alcohol then I proved, I didn't have to give up alcohol.
After few sober experiments, I knew it was time for me to ditch the drink for good, but I was scared to death to live without it.
I was at my lowest of lows and desperate for a change. I had to admit even to my wine loving self, a seed had been planted in my sober experiments. I liked myself better alcohol free. I was starting to build a positive relationship with myself.
A friend of mine was at the same point in her life and we started the process of getting sober together in February of 2018. Having a friend to go through recovery with was the golden ticket to our success. We didn't know at the time, that a sober life would be so amazing. We could not imagine two party girls like us, actually removing the desire to drink. But here I am, gladly choosing the dry life.
I have been able to heal my relationships with my family and with myself. My anxiety is minimal and my depression is gone. I stopped hating myself and started loving myself. I get my buzz from nature, music, relationships, and waking up with a clear mind and full heart every day.
There's more to this story, and I hope you'll do a deep dive into my blog to read it.
Qualifications (and other fun details)
Heather Lowe is the Founder of Ditched the Drink, a wellness company dedicated to helping high achieving professionals move away from alcohol and towards self discovery.
Heather is a IAPRC Certified Professional Life and Recovery Coach (voted #1 Best Overall Recovery Coach Certification programs 2023 by Life Coach Magazine), a Certified Facilitator of Addiction Awareness, a SHE RECOVERS® Coach, which means abiding by the SHE RECOVERS® Intentions & Guiding Principles. She is also an Advisor for the International Center of Addiction Recovery Education (ICARE).
Driven by her education as a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), a Professional of Human Resources (PHR), and Yale Certificate in the Science of Well Being, Heather provides content, knowledge, coaching, and education to individuals and organizations seeking to be more alcohol free.
Heather is passionate about coaching, connecting people with alcohol free resources, and creating a positive sober community. Heather shares the bright side of sobriety as respected and sober coach that gets results and also a sober positive influencer and collaborator @ditchedthedrink on all social media platforms.
The Coach Foundation has identified Heather as one of the premier in the industry.
Heather is a gifted writer and her work has been published in Thrive Global, Monument- Tempest, The Fix, Mashable, Corporate Wellness Magazine, Employee Benefit News, Wine Enthusiast, and more. She has been featured on many podcasts including Recovery Happy Hour, Redesigning Wellness, Alcohol Tipping Point, Energetically You, Sun and Moon Sober Living, Hello Someday, Sober Motivation, Decidedly Dry and more. I love to empower women to say no to alcohol and yes to an awakened life!
Heather lives in Chicago’s western suburbs as a proud girl mom to two teenage daughters, her husband of 20+ years, and their adorable black and white cocker spaniel. Heather is a voracious reader, a new-ish hiker, a seasoned yogi and an enthusiastic dancer.💃🏻
