Elizabeth Vargas, anchor of 20/20, appeared on Good Morning America and opened up about her alcoholism, reports ABC News.  Describing the process of hiding her struggle as “exhausting” and explaining that took her a long time to admit to herself and her family, Vargas says that her alcoholism started as a ritual.  Suffering from panic attacks and anxiety, Vargas admits that she easily convinced herself that she “deserved” each drink.

Even though she was a mother and a wife, she found time to drink at nights, usually having wine.  Vargas explains to anchor George Stephanopoulos that her son used to call her wine “Mommy’s Juice.”  She admits that, at the time, she thought it was very funny, but should have realized that was an indication of a serious problem.  According to New York Daily News, her husband Mark Cohn told her she had a problem and was an alcoholic.  At first, she was in denial and was very angry, but eventually realized he was right.

Now, at 51, Vargas has been through two stints in rehab and is ready to return back to work.  While she originally started drinking to deal with stress and anxiety, she acknowledges that alcohol is no longer an option for her.  She now maintains sobriety with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Vargas has a sponsor and a supportive circle to keep her on the right track.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism provides guidelines on the definitions of moderate alcohol consumption and binge drinking.  For men, moderate is no more than four drinks on a single day and no more than 14 in a week.  For women, moderate is no more than three drinks on a single day and no more than seven in a week.  In contrast, binge drinking means drinking so much within about 2 hours that blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels reach 0.08g/dL. For women, this usually occurs after about 4 drinks, and for men, after about 5.

Excess alcohol consumption is a societal and health problem throughout the world, reports the British Medical Journal. Around 4% of deaths worldwide are related to alcohol, with 2.5 million deaths a year attributable to its use. Death is most commonly caused by injury, liver cirrhosis, poisoning, and malignancy.