Photo – ABC News
Elizabeth Vargas struggles with Alcoholism
“I am. I am an alcoholic. It took me a long time to admit that to myself. It took me a long time to admit it to my family, but I am.”
““The amount of energy I expended keeping that secret and keeping this problem hidden from view was exhausting.”
“Even to admit it to myself was admitting, I thought, that I was a failure.”
In January 2014, news anchor of Good Morning America, Elizabeth Vargas bravely chose to publicly come forward and discuss her struggles with addiction to alcohol in an interview with her colleague, George Stephanopoulos. She even admitted that during her childhood, her father had been drafted into the Vietnam War when she was only six years old and every morning her mother would leave for work, she would have panic attacks. As a result, she never had anyone there to teach her healthy coping skills or that it’s better to feel those feelings when they first come along.
According to U.S. News, in August 2014, she recently had a relapse and forwent the rest of a vacation in California to check back into rehab. U.S. News has also reported that Elizabeth Vargas and her husband, Mark Cohn are in the process of divorce proceedings but the divorce has not yet been finalized. She stated in the ABC News that Cohn was the first to try to point out to her that she had a problem with alcohol, which made her “really angry” and that one of her sons used to personally label her wine “mommy’s juice”.
Vargas has implied that she has a tendency to constantly feel like failure and that especially the daily stress tends to be a trigger for her. She also admitted that it’s often very difficult for her not reach for the bottle but that most of the time, she feels stronger and has plenty of support.
She also said that it was very hard for her to admit that she had a problem with alcohol and that going public with it feels humiliating but it’s worth it. Let’s just hope that she continues to work through her addiction and serve as an example to the rest. She has served as a great one so far.
The first step to truly overcoming addiction is admitting and identifying the problem and triggers. Then from there, the process involves healthy coping skills needed for a healthy, sober life.
Sources:
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/01/elizabeth-vargas-alcohol-for-me-is-no-longer-an-option-says-abc-news-anchor/
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/elizabeth-vargas-leaves-vacation-to-enter-rehab-for-alcohol-addiction-2014218
http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/elizabeth-vargas-marc-cohn-divorcing-second-rehab-stint-2014208