About Me
My name is Nick Hanson. I am an alcoholic who is in active recovery. My journey into the depths of alcoholism is not unique. I was not sexually or physically abused as a child. My drinking career spans nearly 25 years. My disease is progressive. I’ve abused alcohol since the first time I drank it. It didn’t overwhelm my life, however, until many years later. I wasn’t secretly drinking a quart of vodka each day off stashes hidden in my basement, laundry room, garage and attic until the end of my journey.
For many years, I drank socially. I worked hard to establish a career as a writer and healthcare communications professional. I was relatively healthy in terms of body mass index and traditional measures such as blood pressure for many years. I graduated college. I traveled. I dated. I earned numerous career accolades and awards. I got married. I raised my children. I did all of this while drinking excessively.
I tried to manage my alcohol consumption for many years. I was in some type of treatment for five years unsuccessfully. I was doomed to fail because I didn’t embrace my sobriety until I decided to go to inpatient treatment. Each time I white knuckled through a period of sobriety, I never did it for myself. I didn’t want it. I was attempting to placate another person. Or I was resetting my system so I could drink in moderation at some point. Without fail, every time I returned to alcohol, my drinking would go right back to the ridiculous threshold I imbibed prior to abstinence in a matter of weeks. When I finally gave up, and tried to attain sobriety for myself, I began to have success. I truly had to be sick and tired of being sick and tired.
I hope my story of recovery will inspire others to reach out for treatment long before I did. The struggle is real. If you’re in it, know that there is hope, but that attaining sobriety is not easy. You must want it. Badly. Most importantly, you don’t have to be homeless or on death’s door before you decide to put the cork in your bottle.
In my professional career, I've been working in healthcare communications for nearly 20 years at healthcare institutions across Minnesota. I was recognized as a 2023 Society for Healthcare Strategy and Market Development rising star.
I'm married with three kids. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis and enjoy the outdoors, pop culture, reading, cooking and playing with my children.
Listen to a Recovery Elevator podcast about my journey.