Home and Away actress Emily Weir on alcohol addiction recovery
Actress Emily Weir has confessed that before landing her dream role on Home And Away, she was a heavy drinker and now attends Alcoholics Anonymous. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Entertainment
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Actor Emily Weir is proud to say she is two and a half years sober.
It is a brave admission for the 30-year-old Home And Away star.
“The moment that I stopped was a Tuesday morning, April 18,” Weir said.
“I had an epiphany on a massive hangover where I realised I wasn’t living my best life. The epiphany was basically a dream of me as an older woman, full grey hair in plaits with true (red wine) blood mouth, covered in cat hair, alone. The thought was that if I kept going the way I was, that could be my life. Alcohol for me was my poison.”
That pivotal moment was many months before Weir landed her dream job playing Mackenzie Booth on Home And Away.
While she initially gave up alcohol cold turkey without any assistance, she sought help at weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and regular check-ins with a counsellor to unpack trauma from her past.
“I was festering a lot of pain that I didn’t realise and so I would become quite negative when I drank,” she said.
“I would mouth off here and there and when I really started to notice was when I felt people pulling away. I would also drink alone, and for me red wine was the real love.”
She continued: “This was a time when I was an independent actor, going from independent theatre jobs to working in bars, living away from my family, being rejected all of the time and wanting to be successful as an actor. I was drinking to numb anxiety and numb the pain.”
Now, with her career going from strength to strength, Weir believes it is important to continue to work on herself so she does not relapse.
“I don’t ever want to be back in the place that I was in but forever is a lot of pressure,” Weir said. “I don’t miss it, I am better off without it, but it is a day at a time, a week at a time, a month at a time, a year at a time.”
Recent data from the Australian National University (ANU) found that alcohol consumption in women had increased substantially in recent months.
Almost 23 per cent of women said their alcohol consumption had increased, compared to 17.9 per cent of men, according to the study.
Alcoholics Anonymous 1300 222 222